The Golden Cross And The Golden Heart
by LadyRachel18
Summary: Your life can change before you can even realize it. The homeless Lorena learns that lesson when she is offered to work as a servant for the King of Kings, Triple H. Soon the young woman finds out that working in the castle might be even tougher than surviving on the streets. But after a nearly fatal incident, the servant finds herself getting closer and closer with Triple H...
1. Let Them Burn

**Chapter 1**

**Let Them Burn**

A frisky breeze rolled across the battlefield, cold enough to give Triple H the goose bumps. The full moon had ascended high in the dark blue sky, along with a few stars it was the silent witness of the King of Kings' victory.

It was hard to believe for Triple H that in the afternoon the battlefield was filled with the death screams of soldiers and the clanging of swords striking each other. Blood had colored the grass red, bodies dropped dead to the ground. Triple H himself refused to watch his soldiers die at the hands of the Teannian soldiers, so he decided to fight along with his men. There was no time to fear for death, it was them or him. Thanks to all the training he had during the past years, he brutally killed his enemies with his weapon of preference; the sledgehammer. The sounds of the skulls he crushed underneath his sledgehammer would make every human's stomach clench together. Bones broke, skulls cracked, blood splattered on his golden armor and teeth were knocked out. Being beaten to pulp by Triple H's sledgehammer was an even more cruel death than being decapitated by a sword.

Triple H was the almighty king of the country Rexxan. He wasn't called the 'King of Kings' for no reason; storytellers in faraway countries told the stories of all his battles during the war between Rexxan and the neighboring country Teann. The stories told how Triple H had won numerous battles against different countries, whether they were far away or close by. It was the will to protect his kingdom that drove Triple H to win so many battles. The kings and queens of the opposing countries surrendered as soon as they realized their own army was no match for Triple H's army. But Triple H wasn't a power-hungry king. He didn't claim the country for his own when he won the battle. No, he wanted to put those countries on their place, even if it meant killing their soldiers. I am the mightiest king of all, so you should know your place and keep it down. The kings and queens who declared war to Rexxan were arrogant, convinced they could overthrow the mighty king. But as soon as their soldiers' heads were crushed underneath Triple H's sledgehammer, they all grew silent. The queen of Teann was no exception. She had the arrogance to think she could put him on his place, claiming to be the mightiest queen on Earth. But after many battles against Teann, this bloodbath should have ended that delusion. Many of Triple H's men were killed, but the queen's army was as well as vanished out of existence. Only a few soldiers had survived the battle; those unfortunate men were now awaiting a slow and painful death.

Triple H turned around and walked to the middle of the field. His wife, queen Stephanie, demanded from the soldiers to gather wood from the forest to make five big pyres. To each pyre, three Teannian soldiers were tied up, stripped from their armor, nowhere to go. Judging by the fear on the faces, they knew exactly what was coming to them. Not only did the storytellers from the other countries have great stories about the King of Kings but also about his wife. But the stories about queen Stephanie weren't pretty, far from it. It was widely known that Stephanie had a taste for sadism. Witnesses told how the cruel queen from Rexxan would smile in delight when she watched the enemy's soldiers suffer immense pain before they died a horrible death. Her preference of execution was burning her victims alive on the pyre. Battlefields would smell like burned flesh for days after the execution.

Standing in front of the pyres, Stephanie watched in devious glee when she saw the facial expressions of the soldiers. Right now they would regret the day they decided to fight against the King of Kings.

'Look at you now...' the queen taunted. 'Thinking you were invincible while you were killing off my soldiers, now even lower than an insect! Watching you burn will make me so satisfied.'

Some of the soldiers were now literally trembling in fear, but one soldier changed the expression on his face. Glaring at the queen, he spat a mix of saliva and blood right in front of her shoes. 'Fuck you, you Rexxanish bitch.' the fallen soldier hissed. But this amused Stephanie only more; those foolish soldiers thought they were so brave when they were making their last stand by insulting her.

'Seth.' she said. 'Give me the torch.'

A man with his hair dyed in two different colors and wearing an armor only a captain of an army would wear passed the queen a torch. The light of the fire illuminated Stephanie's face in the darkness, giving her grin something devilish.

'Burn, insects.'

The sadism of the queen from Rexxan was immediately proved when she held the torch against the first pyre, setting the dry wood on fire in an instant. One by one, she lightened up all the pyres. Frightened whimpers escaped from the mouths of the soldiers when the fire grew bigger, nearly touching their skin. It was just a matter of seconds before the fire engulfed their feet, the soldiers started to emit their first pained screams. Soon their pain turned unimaginable as the fire climbed higher and higher and burning their body. The screams of the soldiers reached its highest peak as their entire bodies were swallowed up by the fire. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and their screams echoed through the night. Triple H, Stephanie, Seth and the remaining soldiers watched as the soldiers suffered the worst pain a human could ever imagine. Soon the screams slowly died, growing softer and softer, until it was completely silent. The bodies of the soldiers were now nothing more than scorched carcasses.

'That should make that bitch back off.' Stephanie said with a grin when the last fire finally died out. Triple H agreed to that; this horror should make the queen of Teann step back. Now she would see of what Stephanie was capable of doing, if she was smart enough she would retreat the rest of her men. The King of Kings would still reign, upholding his name.

'Your highness, what are the plans now?' Seth asked.

'We will wait for the next move.' Triple H answered. 'If she doesn't want more lives to be wasted, she will surrender. But if she doesn't... then more blood will flow.'

Stephanie chuckled, her voice had something dark. 'Don't worry, Hunter... I'm pretty sure this will scare her off.'


	2. Life On The Streets

**Chapter 2**

**Life On The Streets**

The morning had barely begun, but life in Rexxan's capital Wrestar was already brewing to the fullest. Farmers left their homes on the countryside to head off for a two hour travel to the largest city of Rexxan, hoping they would make enough money to survive for a week. Some would sell enough crops and come home with a big bag of golden coins, others weren't so fortunate and sold little to nothing, being forced to listen to the growling empty stomachs of their family for another week. The people of Rexxan knew all about the war that was currently going on, but they tried to live their daily lives as normal as possible. There were some who feared Triple H's luck running out, but most people had faith in their king. He had won so many battles, why should he lose this one?

Soon the center of Wrestar became crowded with its residents. War or not, life still went on for them. Hell, the fact that their king was often away to fight another country had become some sort of a daily occurrence. Footsteps and voices were heard everywhere. People chatting, farmers and other salesmen praising their products, women gossiping, spoiled children whining; if you came to Wrestar for tranquility, you would unfortunately be at the wrong place. The market was getting more crowded, much to the hopes of the farmers. And a crowded market would be perfect if you wanted to blend in after stealing something...

'Hold it right there, thief!' the voice of the overweight baker bellowed.

A young woman in her mid-twenties ran as fast as she could, holding the loaf of bread she had just stolen against her chest as if her life depended on it. Her heart pounded in her chest as the adrenaline rushed through her veins. Her plan to steal the bread did not go as smoothly as she thought it would be, it was one of those unfortunate times were an attempt to steal something went horribly wrong. She wasn't fast enough; the baker had caught her when she could feel the bread on her fingertips. The heartbeat of the woman only raised faster when the baker started calling out for the guards who were patrolling the market. The woman knew exactly what would happen to her if the guards would catch her. She had heard many stories of fellow homeless. Those who weren't fast enough would be caught, sometimes the ones who were caught would never be heard from again. Nobody knew what happened to them. And honestly, the woman didn't want to know what would happen to her if she got caught. Right now would be the perfect opportunity to escape the guards. There were a lot of people on the market, she could easily blend in. And she had to do that right now; the men in armor were already looking around for her. Hiding the loaf of bread underneath her jacket and tucking her hair underneath her woolen hat, the woman joined the crowd. She quickly headed towards a narrow alley, planning to hide there until the guards would stop looking for her. The crowd made it kind of hard, but she finally managed to do it. Hiding in the shadowy alley, she waited for the guards to pass by. She tried to control her breathing that had grown faster due to the adrenaline, trying to be as quiet as possible. Holding her breath, she watched the guards passing by, luckily not noticing her for a moment. The woman let out a sigh of relief when the guards were out of sight.

'Thank God...'

The name of the homeless woman was Lorena Dureill. For many years, she had to fight for her life to survive on the streets. The streets of Wrestar were merciless to the homeless of the capital. Mostly at night the homeless' lives were in great jeopardy, especially those of the female homeless. Some of them had the worst luck to run into the wrong people; they would be brutally beaten, raped and killed. Even if they caught the killers, they would be released in a couple of hours. One thing was for sure: if you were a homeless in Wrestar, your life was even more worthless than the life of an insect. This was exactly why Lorena wouldn't dare to go search for food at night. As soon as the sun would set, she would go search for a safe place to sleep as quick as possible. As soon as she would find a place like that, she would stay there and only come out at dawn. She would only sleep if there was nobody around. At daytime she would gather as much food as possible, usually her meals were pieces of fruit that had fallen off the stalls at the market. If she was lucky, she could snatch a loaf of bread or even a fish. Stealing food was the most risky part of the day, though. If Lorena wasn't careful, she could become one of those homeless who were arrested and never heard from anymore...Today her loot were three apples and the bread she had stolen; it wasn't too much, but it was something. She would have to eat these for today.

Lorena hoped her secret spot underneath the bridge hadn't been taken. She enjoyed eating there; nothing was more relaxing than eating your meal where nobody could disturb you. There had been some occasions where Lorena had been attacked and robbed from her food by other homeless. It was possibly one of the most important rules of the streets from Wrestar: never trust anybody. Because you would never know when that person would stab you in the back... this is why Lorena chose to be alone. Sure, it was a lonely life, but being alone might save her life. She headed towards the bridge, but she was not in a hurry. She had all the time in the world. While Lorena tried her best to survive on the harsh streets, life went on in Wrestar. Nobody who would bat an eye about her, she was practically invisible for the crowd.

'Hey! It's you again!'

Lorena had made the mistake to walk past the city's brothel. Numerous prostitutes were hanging around the huge building, reeking of alcohol and cheap perfume. They all tried their best to seduce as many men as possible, all so desperate to make money they had to sell their bodies. These women didn't have a single ounce of respect for themselves. A woman with an unusually bright shade of red hair approached Lorena.

'So... have you been thinking about it?' she asked.

'Thinking about what?' The sight of the prostitute didn't make Lorena feel comfortable at all. She had a bit of a blank look in her eyes, possibly because of the drugs the prostitutes were taking to ease the pain when they were doing their jobs... it send a chill down Lorena's spine.

'You know...' the prostitute answered. 'The offer I gave you a while ago!'

Now Lorena remembered. A few days ago, when she was passing by this brothel, the prostitute had offered her a job to work here as one of them. But from the very beginning, Lorena swore to herself she would never, ever, become a prostitute. No, she would never do that to herself. She would never let those men touch her, even if it gave her money. The thought of it made her sick already. She knew they would gave her alcohol and drugs to ease the pain, which would make her lose herself. The young woman would rather live on the dangerous streets than humiliating herself for those men.

'I'm sorry,' Lorena said calmly. 'But the answer is no.'

'Why? Hooking isn't such a bad life...'

'It's not the life that I choose to live.'

'It's much better than living on the streets, you know...'

'I told you, the answer is no. Goodbye.'

Lorena wanted to walk away, but the prostitute grabbed her arm. 'Are you sure? Come with me, I will introduce you to my pimp! I think you would make a tasty bit for the clients!' The prostitute pulled her arm, trying to make Lorena walk along with her inside. But Lorena had absolutely no intentions to come along with her. 'I said no!' she replied indignantly, got loose from the woman's hand and walked away as quickly as possible. She heard the prostitute yelling something at her, but she barely heard it.

Finally Lorena arrived underneath the bridge. Luckily her spot wasn't taken, much to her delight. She sat down, grabbed an apple from underneath her coat and took a bite. Staring at the water, she saw some fishes swimming by without a care in the world. Swallowing down the piece of apple, Lorena let out a soft sigh.  
>This was her life... would it ever change?<p> 


	3. An Unexpected Twist Of Fate

**Chapter 3**

**An Unexpected Twist Of Fate**

Lorena knew that despite the harsh life on the streets, Wrestar had some great places to visit. One of her favorite spots was the harbor near the bridge. You could see and smell the sea, Lorena absolutely loved it. Merchant ships from all different countries would arrive to deliver their goods and trade them for other goods. One time, two sailors were carrying a heavy wooden crate; apparently one of the sailors had slippery fingers, both of them lost grip and dropped the crate to the ground. The crate fell apart and exotic grapes rolled all over the ground. Lorena grabbed as many grapes as she could before being chased away by the sailors; that day, she had a lucky strike.

Another one of her favorite places to visit was the city's square. If you would stand right in the middle, you could witness the most breathtaking view Wrestar could offer you; the sight of Triple H's castle standing on a hill in the far distance. To prevent intruders to visit the castle, they had build a large wall around it. Guards were guarding the gate to the castle night and day, making the castle look more like a gated community. Residents from Wrestar were not welcome; only royalty from the other countries were allowed to visit the castle. Nevertheless, it was still a stunning sight to see the highest towers peeking above the wall.

But the most stunning thing to see in Wrestar for Lorena... was the sky.

Ever since she was a little girl, Lorena loved to look at the sky, especially when it was nearly the end of the day. There was nothing more beautiful than watching the sun go down, coloring from yellow, to orange, to red. Lorena always thought sunsets had something dreamy, she loved watching them. Her life had changed drastically during the past years, but thankfully the sunsets never changed. Even when she was in her mid-twenties, Lorena enjoyed watching sunsets as much when she was a little girl.

Today there was yet another sunset as Lorena followed a crowd of people who were heading towards the city's square. The last days weren't really that good; she barely managed to gather some food, leaving her hungry for most of the time. Hopefully things would get better, or else she might starve right here on the streets... but right now, curiosity made her forget about all of that. Just a little while ago, Lorena was sitting in an alley eating an apple. She noticed how an entire crowd of citizens were heading towards the city's square, all talking to each other in excitement. What were they talking about? In curiosity, Lorena got up and listened to them. Apparently a messenger had arrived in Wrestar today with great news; the King of Kings had returned! The people of Wrestar all went out to catch a glimpse of their king with his queen. Although many went to the square to admire the sight, others went there because they had some urgent questions, questions that had been bothering them for as long Rexxan was in war with Teann. Lorena decided to join the crowd; Triple H was rarely seen outside his castle, it was a rare opportunity to see him! She had heard so many stories about the king's battles from other homeless, the stories never ceased to amaze her. The young woman snuck out of the alley and blend in with the ground, walking towards the city's square.

The square was completely filled with people, Lorena had never seen the square as crowded like now, not even when the market's here. All eyes were focused on the gates of the city, all were hoping for a sign. Hundreds of voices were speaking at once, nearly deafening Lorena. For a moment she wondered if she did the right thing. She had never been in a crowd this big before, it was nearly suffocating. Although she tried to ignore them, Lorena noticed several people who were standing around her glaring at her in disgust. Just by taking one look at her, they knew she was a homeless. Lorena's skin was pale, as if she had never been in the sun. Her long platinum blonde hair was braided in a messy braid. The woolen hat was supposed to keep her head warm during the nights. Her thin light yellow dress was raveled, the jacket she was wearing started to show holes. It wouldn't last long before the soles of her shoes would let go, they were that old. Lorena was used by getting contemptuous glares from the people; she had been looked at like that for so many years, she just stopped caring about it. There was no place for shame if you wanted to survive.

Suddenly, the people of Wrestar all fell silent as the loud bellowing of a horn was heard in the distance. 'Open the gate!' the voice of a man loudly commanded soon after the bellowing faded away. Immediately the huge gate was opened with a loud creaking noise and a man with shoulder-length two-toned hair and wearing an army captain's armor was the first one to enter the city.

'All make way for the King of Kings and the queen!' he called out.

The crowd obeyed the words of the captain, splitting in two to make way for their returning king. Lorena was one of the many people to stand in the front, thus getting the best view. Suddenly the crowd could feel the ground underneath their feet slightly tremble, as if there was a very light earthquake. A loud rumbling noise followed with footsteps could be heard in the distance, which soon got louder and louder. This was the moment everyone in Wrestar was waiting for, no, not only Wrestar, the whole country of Rexxan! The remaining soldiers followed the captain, following him into the capital. Their armors had been damaged, possibly as the result from fighting on the battlefields. Scratches and dents were the signs of the soldiers' will to sacrifice their lives for their homeland. Lorena noticed how a woman near her studied the group of soldiers with a worried look on her face, as if she was searching for somebody.

'Where is my son?' the woman suddenly asked. 'Where is he?' She looked at the soldiers, hoping she would catch a glimpse of her son's face. But unfortunately, he was not there... the woman started fearing for the worst. 'Where is my son?! Tell me!' Suddenly, she launched towards the captain, grabbing onto his armor and shaking him. 'Where is he?! Where is he?!' she screamed hysterically. But the captain barely flinched, he looked nearly unimpressed. Two guards made their way through the public and managed to rip the woman away from him; she was still crying hysterically, demanding to know where her son was. The guards dragged her off into the crowd, kicking and screaming. Unlike the captain, Lorena felt sympathy for the woman. Poor thing, she hoped her son was alright... even though she could've easily guessed what happened to him. The loud rumbling noise from earlier snapped her out of her thoughts and made her look up. The sight made Lorena's and everybody else's jaw drop.

* * *

><p>The King of Kings and his queen Stephanie made their return to Wrestar nearly historical. They arrived in the capital sitting in an huge open golden carriage, decorated with golden skulls and spikes. Two horses pulled the carriage with all the strength they had. Triple H's appearance nearly gave the whole crowd the goose bumps; nearly his entire attire was made out of gold, his crown, his mask, his shoulder plates and chainmail. All was made of gold, except for his scarlet red cape. Large crooked spikes were attached to his shoulder plates. But the most intimidating about his attire had to be his mask; it was a golden frontal part of a skull. There was a rumor about the origin of the mask in the stories Lorena had heard. They said the 'mask' was once the skull of a foolish king who dared to defy Triple H. Even after Triple H's soldiers had defeated his army, the king, still drunk with power, tried to overthrow Triple H anyway by challenging him in an one on one battle. After an intense fight, Triple H defeated him by crushing the back of his skull with his legendary sledgehammer. He then decided to make a mask of the remaining part of his skull, dipping it in molten gold and attaching it to his crown. Now the other foolish kings and queens would learn not to defy the King of Kings... seeing the slightly sinister mask in real life made Lorena shiver. The national symbol of Rexxan kept his astonishing attire together; the golden cross. Lorena couldn't keep her eyes off from the cross, it was like it was hypnotizing her...<p>

Queen Stephanie herself looked astonishing as well; a beautiful woman with long brown hair and blue eyes, she wore a black corset with a long black skirt with a split in it, kind of mismatching with all the gold. The only bit of gold she was wearing was her crown, also adorned with the golden cross. For some reason, she looked unimpressed by all the onlookers. It looked like she was looking down on all of them...

The crowd burst into a loud cheering fit, all cheering for their returned king and queen. Unfortunately the ones who came to see the royal couple didn't get the chance to ask their questions of where their fallen husbands, sons or brothers were; the questions were overshadowed by the cheering. Lorena herself didn't cheer, but she did smile from ear to ear. This was so amazing to see, all of this made her forget about how hungry she actually was. So the stories were true after all... Triple H looked so impressive, even if he wasn't on the battlefields.

'Hey, you! Street rat! Out of my way!'

A callused hand of a man roughly grabbed Lorena's shoulder and pushed her out of the way, trying to get to the front row himself to get a better view.

'Do you mind?!' Lorena responded angrily. She had been called a 'street rat' for many times before, she didn't mind that anymore, but if there was one thing that could anger her were rude people. People who thought they were so much more important than others while they weren't worth a thing. The man reeked of alcohol; he was one of the many drunks here in Wrestar.

'I said, get out of my way!' The drunk gave Lorena a harsh push, making her trip over her own feet and fall on the ground with a painful thud... right in front of the carriage.

The horses let out a loud neigh and stopped right in front of Lorena. Everybody in the crowd was practically holding their breath now; everyone in Rexxan and outside knew about the ferocious temper of queen Stephanie. She may have looked beautiful, but underneath her good looks, there was a rage inside her she could barely control. Everything could set Stephanie off, no matter how small it was. There was a story of a messenger from a foreign country visiting the castle to deliver a message from the ruler. For some reason (some people said he didn't greet the king and queen properly, others said he stared at Stephanie for too long), Stephanie was set into a rage and ordered the messenger to be captured and flogged. If she could inflict such pain on a minor incident, imagine what she would do to somebody who would interrupt their return...?

'You! Over there!' Stephanie shouted.

Looking up, Lorena loudly gasped. As quickly as possible, she got up, realizing the trouble she was in right now. Like the others, she knew about Stephanie rage. She never thought she would be one of those unfortunate enough to set her off, she wouldn't have dared in a million years. And now she just did it... With her eyes widening with fear, all thoughts of what could happen to her went through Lorena's head. Would her punishment hurt her a lot? Would she still be alive after that?

'How dare you to interrupt our return!' The queen glared right at her, the blue eyes pierced into her soul. 'Guards! Arrest her!'

Lorena could feel her legs paralyzing with fear, she was so scared. Oh God... this was it for her. She wanted to run, but she couldn't. She saw two guards emerging from the crowd, walking towards her. But just before they could touch her...

'Wait. Don't arrest her just yet.'

Lorena let out a nearly inaudible gasp. What? She wasn't going to get arrested? What was going on here? The King of Kings had stood up and looked at the woman. Stephanie frowned at the command of her husband. 'What?' she exclaimed, but Triple H ignored her. He pointed at Lorena.

'You.' he spoke. 'What's your name?'

'Uhm... my... My name is Lorena. Lorena Dureill, your highness.' the homeless woman answered with a slightly shaking voice. She could feel Triple H's eyes on her, looking at her. She could feel he had a disgusted look in his eyes, like many people had when they looked at her. She could have always endured those disgusted glares, but receiving one from the king of Rexxan, the King of Kings, made her cringe from the inside. Her old ragged clothes hadn't been washed in weeks, would he smell it from that distance? He had all the right to be disgusted, though; he was the mightiest man in all of Rexxan, she was just a lowly homeless woman. She was even lower than dirt compared to a person of his status.

'Lorena.' Triple H suddenly said. 'How would you like to abandon your life on the streets... to work for me in the castle as a servant?'

What...?

The crowd broke into a loud murmuring. What was this? No punishment? She, a homeless, could work for the King of Kings in his castle? Lorena could feel her head spinning, she almost forgot to breathe. She couldn't believe it... this couldn't be real! Never in her entire life, she never had received an opportunity like this. Lorena Dureill, a woman who roamed the streets of Wrestar for years, struggling to survive, forced to steal food to remain alive, was offered to work as a servant for Triple H. No... this had to be a dream. She expected to wake up at any second, but it didn't happen. This wasn't a dream, this was real. She knew she shouldn't dismiss this offer. This was her only chance to get off the streets, to change her life. She would never have to steal again, never look over her shoulder...

She would have a better life than the prostitutes in the brothels.

'I...' Lorena took a breath and breathed out. 'I accept your offer, your highness.'


	4. The Servant Girl

**Chapter 4**

**The Servant Girl**

Was she still dreaming? Or was this for real after all?

Even when she was sitting in the carriage, Lorena still expected to wake up at any moment, finding herself lying on a piece of old sail behind some wooden crates at the harbor. This was way too surreal, this had to be a dream. But no, she still didn't wake up.

This was for real.

Looking behind her, Lorena saw the distance between her and Wrestar growing bigger and bigger. It was nearly symbolic; for many years she had tried her absolute best to survive on the streets of this city, and now that she chose for this new life, it was like she was putting her old life behind her. For the first time in years, the young woman knew she didn't have to steal food or look behind her shoulder at night. It was inevitable that she would have to work a lot, she didn't mind that, but one thing was for sure; she would finally have a safe place to stay.

But one thing that made her really uncomfortable was the way Stephanie was looking at her. From the moment she got into the carriage, the queen of Rexxan was glaring at her with a disgusted look in her eyes, as if she was a mangy dog instead of a human being. It made Lorena cringe from the inside; it made her feel like she was even lower than an insect. She almost felt ashamed for sitting here in the carriage; no king and queen would like to be seen with a street rat, after all. But maybe, just maybe... Stephanie would take a liking of her. If she worked as hard as she could, maybe she would see her in a different way. Maybe that would help... Lorena hoped it would work. Triple H himself didn't pay too much attention to the 'new girl'. He stared at his castle in the distance, as if he was hoping to get there as soon as possible.

The closer they got to the wall around the castle, the more nervous Lorena got. My God... she was going to be the first resident of Wrestar to be allowed inside the castle! She wondered how it would look like inside. Was it also decorated in gold, just like the carriage? Were there more servant girls? Lorena hoped she could befriend them, it has been a long time since she had been friends with anybody. During her time on the street, making friends with fellow homeless could actually get you killed. Finally they arrived at the wall of the castle. Lorena dropped her jaw in awe. My goodness... she knew the castle was big when she saw it from a distance, but from up close, the castle and the wall looked huge! 'Open the gates!' At the far front, Captain Seth ordered the giant gates of the castle to be opened. The guards complied and opened the gates with a loud creaking noise. Lorena bit her lower lip.

This was it.

No turning back...

* * *

><p>The courtyard was large enough to let all of Triple H's soldiers train there. Numerous of racks with all kinds of weapons were attached to the walls. Swords, axes, spears, shields; these men had enough weapons to turn themselves into unstoppable warriors. It looked like some soldiers were still not good enough to fight on the battlefield, because some of them were left behind to train. The sound of clashing swords, shields and grunts echoed through the courtyard, but as soon as the training soldiers spotted their returning comrades with the king and queen, the sounds immediately stopped. The swords and shields were put down and the men walked towards the carriage, who had stopped in the middle of the courtyard. Lorena could smell their sweat when they got closer, it nearly made her wrinkle her nose in disgust. Some soldiers had bloody slashes and bruises on their bodies, giving her the goose bumps. So this is what they went through during their training...<p>

Triple H stood up and got out of his carriage; like obedient dogs, the soldiers backed away a bit. They had nothing else but respect for their king.

'My soldiers...' the King of Kings spoke. 'It has been a long and bloody battle against the queen of Teann and her soldiers. We have lost good men, who were willing to sacrifice their lives for Rexxan. But their deaths have not been in vain. Because in the end, we have won the war. The queen of Teann has surrendered herself.'

Upon hearing these words, the soldiers burst into a thunderous cheering fit. Yes, they had lost some of their comrades, they were damn good men, but like their king said, their deaths hadn't been in vain; that was a big comfort for them. So far none of them had paid any attention to Lorena, they didn't even notice her. No, they only had eye for their mighty king. He was like a god to them.

A door near the main entrance of the castle opened and unbeknownst to everybody, a young woman quickly approached the carriage. She slightly bowed down to the royal couple, another sign of respect. 'Welcome home, your highnesses.' she said with a soft voice.

Just then, Lorena noticed her. The young woman's appearance made her blink her eyes in surprise. The woman was about her length, maybe a little shorter than her. Like Lorena, she had long platinum blonde hair, but the lower half of her hair was dyed blue. She was wearing a red top adorned with golden patterns and chains, a long red skirt with two splits and a golden belt. Was she a servant girl? Nonetheless, her length and her hair made her look like a fairy. The only thing that was missing were her wings. Lorena had heard many stories about fairies when she was a little girl... were they real after all? Were all the servants in the castle fairies? The thought made Lorena smile.

'Alexa!' Stephanie shouted angrily. Lorena jumped at this sudden outburst. What was going on here? What did she do to make her angry? She didn't do anything wrong if you'd ask her. Stephanie's voice made Alexa, the 'fairy', cringe.

'Where the hell are your manners? Where is your mask?!'

'I'm... I'm sorry, your highness. I must have forgotten it...'

'Of course you did, you stupid little cow.' the queen hissed. 'Next time when you forget to put on your mask again, I will not hesitate to punish you. Understood?'

Alexa stared at the ground in shame and nodded. 'Yes, your highness.' When she got a bit of courage to look up, she noticed Lorena. 'Your highness... may I ask who that girl is?'

'This girl here is Lorena.' Triple H answered before his wife could. 'She will work here as a servant. I want you to prepare a bath for her and give her some clothing.'

'And make sure you put a lot of herbs in the water.' Stephanie's said contemptuously. 'She smells even worse than the horses' stables.' These words made Lorena feel ashamed of herself. She wanted to say something back, really, but she couldn't. It was true what Stephanie said; she smelled horrible. And what was the point if she would say something back? Stephanie was a queen, she was a (former) homeless. Her words would mean nothing to her.

'Lorena.' Triple H said. 'You go with Alexa now. She will learn everything you need to know.'

'Yes, your highness.'

Lorena got out of the carriage and followed Alexa to the door. Much to her surprise, the 'fairy' was smiling, despite what happened a moment ago. 'So you are new here?' she cheerfully asked.

'Well yes, I am.'

'Ah! It always makes me happy when a new girl arrives at the castle!'

Lorena couldn't help but frown in curiosity. A moment ago she got yelled at by Stephanie and now she was smiling from ear to ear and talking like nothing happened.

'Can I ask you something?' the former homeless asked.

'Sure, what is it?'

'How come you are acting so happy now?'

'Well... queen Stephanie loses her temper quite often, even about the smallest things. She is a true perfectionist. I get scolded often, but I'm used to it by now. I always try to make the best out of my situation... it's the best thing I can do.'

* * *

><p>The shame Lorena felt earlier was replaced with awe when she entered the castle.<p>

Every time when she watched the massive building from the city's square, she had always wondered how it would look like from the inside. And today she would finally found out how it looked like. Torches were attached to the walls, illuminating brightly in the hallways. Night was nearly falling, so the light was very pleasant. Scarlet red tapestry with the golden cross embroidered in it covered some of the bricks from the walls. Lorena followed Alexa through the hallways, apparently she knew the way around the castle like the back of her hand.

'Trust me, you will feel great after your bath!' the woman happily said.

'Thanks a lot...' Lorena smiled shyly. 'It has been quite a while since I took a bath.'

'What? Why?' Just then, Alexa understood what she meant; looking at her old clothes, she found about Lorena's background. 'Oh... you are a homeless?'

'Yes... I've been living on the streets for a long time.'

'For how long?'

'Two, three years maybe.'

'My goodness... how did you manage to stay alive for so long?'

'I had to be as careful as possible... I had to steal food, I nearly got caught a couple of times. I couldn't trust any other homeless; most of them were so desperate they would kill you just for a bit of food. I even got attacked a few times for the food I had. This is why I have spend my life on the streets mostly alone. Every night I looked for different places to sleep safe. I refused to use drugs and alcohol, no matter how miserable I was on some days. That's how I managed to survive, basically.'

It felt good to tell her story to somebody, Lorena started to feel better and better.

'The king and queen only found me today when they returned to the castle. Some guy pushed me in front of the carriage. Stephanie believed I interrupted them on purpose and ordered me to be arrested, but the king offered me to work here. That's how I ended up here...'

Alexa slightly nodded. 'Dang... that's quite a story you got there. You're lucky you didn't get arrested, or else you wouldn't be even standing here right now!' Of course Alexa knew what would happen to homeless people if they were arrested by the city's guards. They would be thrown into a prison cell and left there to rot, nobody who would be concerned about them... if Triple H hadn't offered her the job, Lorena's life as a free woman would be over by now.

The women stopped walking when they reached a door.

'My room is over here.' Alexa said. 'I can grab some clothes of mine and give them to you.'

'Thank you, Alexa.' Lorena smiled, she had the feeling they were already building up a friendship.

'Hey, it's no problem. Hold on, I will be right back.'

Alexa opened the door, got into her bedroom and shut the door behind her. Leaning against the wall, Lorena let out a soft sigh. Well, so far things were going well for now... She was starting to become friends with Alexa, something she was really happy about. If she would become her friend, then maybe her life here in the castle would be even better! Yes, what Stephanie said earlier about her was embarrassing, but if she proved to her that she was definitely worth something, she could take back her words and take a liking towards her. Lorena was actually pretty optimistic right now.

Suddenly she heard some footsteps in the distance and two female voices talking to each other. Were there more servant girls in the castle? That was most likely. The footsteps got closer and two other servant girls turned around the corner. One girl was a bit tall and had blonde hair, the other had red lips and light brown hair. They were dressed just like Alexa, then they had to be servant girls as well. The women immediately stopped talking upon spotting Lorena.

'Hey! Who the heck are you?!' the servant girl with the red lips asked with something hostile in her voice.

'Sasha, I think she's a homeless, just look at her clothes...' the other servant girl said, pointing at Lorena's clothes and wrinkling her nose in disgust.

'I think so too, Charlotte... How the hell did she get in? Did she sneak past the guards?'

Lorena didn't like the hostility from Sasha one bit. It didn't make her feel comfortable at all. She looked pretty disgusted by her appearance, like the people in Wrestar did when they noticed her.

'I... I didn't sneak in.' the young woman said, trying to defend herself. 'The king offered me a job to work here as a servant girl.'

'Seriously?' Sasha frowned and looked at Charlotte. 'Does Triple H pick up street rats now? What the hell was he thinking?'

'What does it matter if I'm a street rat?' Lorena asked, starting to get angry with Sasha's attitude. 'I'm here now, my past doesn't matter now, or does it?'

'Oh it does, street rat...' Sasha chuckled and grinned. 'People like you are the worst. You are nothing more than vermin. Filthy, disgusting, vermin. You are not worthy to be a servant for the king and queen. You deserve to die in the gutter in your own filth.' Sasha walked towards Lorena and poked her harshly against her chest. 'You are worthless.'

Just before Lorena could say something back to defend herself, the door opened and Alexa appeared, holding some clothes. 'What's going on?' she asked. 'Is something wrong?'

'Triple H has picked up a street rat from the streets, that's what's wrong.' Charlotte sneered. Alexa sighed and shook her head. She had expected Charlotte and Sasha to react like this; these girls were downright mean. They enjoyed it when people who worked around the castle got in trouble, they would watch in delight when Stephanie would lash out against anybody who were unlucky enough to make a mistake. Charlotte and Sasha had a poor opinion about everybody, they thought they were so much better. These girls had a mean streak, and they weren't afraid to show it.

'Leave her alone, alright? She hadn't done anything to you, so you shouldn't anything to her.'

'She already did something to us.' Sasha answered, glaring at Lorena. 'She has the guts to stand near me. Let's go, Charlotte.' Charlotte nodded and together with her friend, she walked away from Lorena and Alexa.

The 'fairy' patted on Lorena's shoulder. 'I'm sorry about that. They have always been like this, they have picked on me as well. You just got to ignore them. Let's go now, I will prepare the bath for you.'

* * *

><p>'What the hell were you thinking, Hunter?!' Stephanie hissed coldly, pointing her fork at him.<p>

Sitting at the large oak dinner table, the royal couple had their first good dinner they had a long while. On the battlefield there was no time for a large cooked meal, for that time they had eat potato puree just like the soldiers. Being back in the castle and finally being able to have a proper dinner was so good.

After swallowing down a mouthful of wine, Triple H cocked his eyebrow. 'What do you mean?' he asked.

'You know damn well what I'm talking about!' Stephanie snapped. 'That little bitch Lorena you picked up from the streets! A filthy homeless! Here, in our castle! Disgusting, Hunter, disgusting!'

'Will you please calm down?' Triple H answered, unmoved by his wife's rage. 'I offered her to be a servant for a reason, you know?'

'Hunter, we already have three servants, I think that is more than enough!'

'Stephanie, if you let me finish speaking, I can explain it to you.' Triple H cut off a piece from the cooked chicken of his plate. 'She is a homeless. She is worthless. Her life doesn't have any value whatsoever. By becoming a servant, her useless life may have some purpose after all.' It was true. Triple H remembered Lorena standing there in front of the carriage earlier this day, nearly shaking like a leaf when Stephanie ordered her to be arrested. Just by one look at her, the King of Kings knew she wasn't worth a thing. No other king or queen would ever want a sickly pale, smelly, underweight excuse of a woman as their servant in their castle. This lowly homeless was destined to die in the gutter. Triple H didn't feel any pity for her. But at least he wanted to give her pathetic life some worth. That's why he wanted Lorena to work in the castle. Only for that, no other reason.

The queen didn't reply, but didn't remove the glare from her face. After a little while, she nodded. 'You're right about her being worthless.' she said, but her voice still had something cold. 'She'd better do her work good here... I'm not afraid to punish her if I have to.'

'I know that, Stephanie.' Triple H took another gulp of his wine. 'I know you will.'


	5. Wicked Queen

**Chapter 5**

**Wicked Queen**

'Lorena! Lorena, wake up!'

Shaking her shoulder, Alexa attempted to wake the former homeless up, but with no avail. Lorena let out a soft groan and turned around.

'Please, Alexa... just a little longer...'

When was the last time she had slept in a proper bed? Lorena couldn't remember... but lying in this bed felt so good, she didn't want to get out of it just yet. She had to sleep on bales of hay, pieces of sail, even on the hard cold ground for three years, sleeping in a real bed was an absolute delight. She only had woken up one time in the middle of the night, like she did when she was sleeping on the streets. But as soon as she realized there was nothing to worry about, Lorena drifted off back to sleep again. Lorena wished she could lie in this bed forever.

'Come on now, Lorena.' Alexa said, starting to get impatient. 'Queen Stephanie hates it when her servants show up late. She will punish you for that, you know!'

Letting out a yawn, Lorena finally opened her eyes.

'Ah, good, you're awake. I will go to the kitchen and get something to eat for you, so you can get yourself dressed up. Better hurry!' Alexa walked away from Lorena's bed, opened the door and left her bedroom.

Sitting up, Lorena looked around her. It was funny, really... Yesterday she woke up behind a pile of wooden crates at the harbor, now she woke up in the castle of the King of Kings. Her life had changed before she could've even expected it... Lorena still found it hard to believe it. But waking up right here in this room proved that yesterday was not a dream, but reality. Lorena got out of the bed. Alexa borrowed her an old nightgown before going to sleep; it was the first time in three years that Lorena changed her clothes. Her old clothes were the only things that were truly hers, it were only things she had left. Alexa had offered to share her bedroom with her, that was really nice of her. She was pretty sure Charlotte and Sasha would kick her out of their bedrooms immediately and she really didn't want her to spend her first night sleeping in the dungeons, so she decided to share her room with her.

Looking at herself in the mirror of Alexa's dressing table, Lorena hardly could believe the girl she was seeing was herself. She had often seen her reflection in the water near the harbor, but this time, she could see it even better. It was like she was a whole different person now... Last night she had her first proper bath. She washed every part of her body, including her hair. Her hair was no longer in a braid, she was wearing it down now. Lorena didn't know her skin was that pale... the blue eyes of her reflection stared back at her with slight disbelief.

But right there was no time to gawk at herself, she had to hurry. Lorena stripped herself from her nightgown and grabbed the clothes Alexa had put for her in a corner, putting them on. It were the clothes all the servant girls in this castle were wearing; a red top with golden patterns and a long red skirt with two splits. Lorena put on two golden bracelets and belt, leather sandals and, most importantly, her golden mask. She took one last look at herself in the mirror. The homeless woman was gone; she was now a servant girl. Lorena gave herself an encouraging nod.

She was prepared to work as hard as she could.

Almost immediately after finishing her breakfast (a loaf of bread and water, apparently this was a common breakfast for the servant girls), Lorena received her very first task on the first day of her job; scrubbing the floor in the throne room. Alright, sure. How hard could it possibly be?

If only the young woman knew...

Walking outside to the courtyard, Lorena took a big breath of fresh air. Despite what Stephanie said about her and the harsh words from Sasha yesterday, she felt happy. Lorena felt safe here in the castle; the gates and wall were guarded, nobody from outside the castle could possibly enter. And even if somebody did, there would be soldiers training outside who would get the culprit. Lorena didn't have to look behind her shoulder to if somebody was following her, she didn't have to steal food... it was good to be here.

The sun had just fully ascended into the sky and Triple H's soldiers were already training in the courtyard. Just like when Lorena arrived at the castle, the sounds of swords clashing together, axes clanging against shields and loud grunts (often mixed with a bellow of pain) filled the sky. Lorena could barely imagine what these men had to go through in order to achieve a place on the battlefield. The well where she had to get the water for the throne room was near the training spot of the soldiers. Lorena walked over there, grabbed a bucket near the well and filled it up. Just then, she heard two female voices snigger behind her. Unbeknownst to Lorena, Sasha and Charlotte had been watching the training soldiers as well, and just when she was fetching the water, they noticed her. And of course, they couldn't help but mock her once again.

'I hope she falls over and drowns in there.' Sasha said with a grin on her face.

'Hopefully not.' Charlotte answered. 'Or else the water might get spoiled because of her.'

Lorena rolled her eyes in annoyance. She decided to ignore those women, they didn't know any better. With the bucket filled with water, she went back inside the castle.

* * *

><p>Upon entering the throne room, Lorena was struck with awe once more. A giant chandelier lightened the (possibly) biggest room of the castle; upon a closer inspection, Lorena noticed that the chandelier, just like the carriage, was decorated with golden spikes and skulls, stained with dripping wax. Tapestries with the golden cross embroidered in it, much larger than the ones in the hallways, covered up most of all the bricks of the walls. And right there, in front of Lorena, were the two thrones of the king and queen of Rexxan. The thrones were made out of pure gold and just like the chandelier and the carriage, spikes and skulls were the decoration. One throne was smaller than the other, that must've been Stephanie's throne. Lorena was right about that theorem; queen Stephanie was sitting in that throne, staring at her. But she didn't look too happy...<p>

'Servant girl!' Stephanie called out with a loud voice, making Lorena snap out of her awe. 'You are late already! Hurry up and clean the floor! There is no time for gawking in my castle.'

The servant girl nodded. 'Yes, your highness.'

Lorena immediately got down on her knees, took the brush out of the bucket and started scrubbing the floor. It was true, the floor really needed to be cleaned, it had a bit of a stale smell. Before she started doing this, Lorena thought this was going to be a piece of cake... but she was all wrong. The throne room was huge, it would take possibly two hours to clean every bit on the floor. After an hour, her arms already started to hurt, but she forced herself to keep going. She had accepted this job, so she'd better do it.

But what really made Lorena feel uncomfortable was the constant commentary from Stephanie. She really tried her best, but it looked like it wasn't good enough for the queen of Rexxan. Also, she could feel her glaring at her, as if she was trying to burn her glare into her soul.

'Scrub faster, dimwit!'

'You missed a spot, you stupid cow!'

'My God, you call that cleaning?!'

Lorena would hear those comments every couple of seconds. She scrubbed as fast and hard as she could, the pain in her arms became nearly unbearable. Her fingertips became red and sore, she scrubbed that hard. But still, Stephanie wouldn't stop belittling her. Lorena could feel a big headache coming up as she could feel her anger starting to boil. What did she know about cleaning? Lorena was pretty sure Stephanie never had to lift a finger during her entire life. No, she was probably spoiled rotten by her parents and servants. Is this what the other servant girls went through as well? As Stephanie's insulting comments started to increase, Lorena started to lose her temper bit by bit. It wouldn't last long before she would eventually snap. She started to get a bit dizzy, the pain in her arms and fingertips were reaching its highest peak.

'I'm pretty sure you never cleaned a floor your entire life, you lazy scumbag!'

That insult finally made Lorena snap. She had endured an hour of this, but this was too much. What Stephanie just said was a complete lie. She had never been lazy her entire life, she would always be ready to work hard. Plus, she probably assumed she would be sitting on her ass all day back in the time when she was homeless, which was also not true. She had always tried her best to survive in the rough environment of the streets, it was psychically and often mentally challenging. The servant girl threw the brush in a far corner of the throne room and stood up, facing the queen.

'If you know how to clean, do it yourself then!' Lorena yelled angrily.

But soon she would regret saying that...

As if she was stung by a wasp, Stephanie jumped up from her throne, charged at Lorena and slapped her right across the face. The impact knocked off her mask and made the world around her look like it was shaking. Lorena lost her balance and fell on the wet ground, her cheek felt like it was on fire. But Stephanie's ferocious rage wasn't over yet. She grabbed Lorena's hair, pulling her up. The pain was horrible, it made Lorena let out a pained shriek. Tears of pain started to well up in her eyes.

'You do not ever, ever, speak to me like that!' Stephanie screamed in her ear, making it ring. Her voice was so loud and shrill, it nearly made her ear bleed. 'I am your queen, you are nothing compared to me!'

She let go of Lorena's hair, but quickly gave her another slap across the face, this time on the other cheek. The poor woman lost her balance once more and fell again, realizing the mistake she had made. Oh God, was she going to survive this?! She tried to get up to run away, but Stephanie was faster than her. She got on top of her and started to punch her in the face repeatedly.

'You are nothing, you hear me?!' Stephanie yelled. 'You are worthless! You are scum!'

After numerous of punches to the face, the ferocious queen finally got off from her and looked at the result. Lorena was a complete mess. A thick trickle of blood flowed out of her nose. Her eyes were practically punched shut. Her lower lip was split. She softly sobbed, her face was crunched in pain. There she was, lying on the ground, broken and humiliated.

'If you ever dare to speak to me like that again, I will give you a far more worse punishment than this. Understood?' To make her point clear, Stephanie kicked Lorena in the back, making her shriek out in pain once more. Then she walked away from her, leaving the throne room.

Lorena had never felt this powerless before. It was truly a horrible feeling. This feeling combined with the pain in her face and spine made more tears flow down her cheeks. Stephanie was right... she was nothing compared to her. She didn't have the right to talk back to her, because after all, she was just a lowly servant to Stephanie. This was so humiliating... If she held back her words, this wouldn't have happened... She didn't know what was hurting more; the pain in her face or the humiliation. She closed her eyes and softly sobbed.

'Damn... Stephanie got her pretty good.'

'Whatever she did, she probably deserved it.'

When Charlotte and Sasha heard the poor girl sobbing when they were walking in the hallway, they decided to take a little look. Upon spotting her, they softly chuckled. Such a bloody mess... so pathetic.

'Just look at her, I bet she was begging for a beating!'

'It surprises me that she is worthy enough for Stephanie's punches...'

'I wish she had beaten her to death.'

'Let's see how long she will last. I think the servant girl before her lasted a bit longer...'

Lorena heard the insults, but she didn't even react. She was too miserable to say something back, she continued to sob. It was all true... she was worthless... She hoped she would vanish in the thin air.

'Oh my God, Lorena!'

A familiar voice. Alexa entered the throne room and ran towards the broken servant girl. She carefully lifted her head, the damage to her face shocked her.

'Oh no...' Alexa whispered. 'What did Stephanie do to you, Lorena?'

'She beat the living shit out of her, that's what she did!' Sasha laughed.

'Shut up, Sasha!' Alexa yelled angrily. 'You always have to be a bitch, don't you?!' She turned her attention back to Lorena. 'Ssssh, quiet now. You're going to be alright...' All she wanted to do right now was to get her out of here. Alexa helped to get her up, Lorena let out a whimper due to the pain in her back. It was painful, but she managed to stand her legs.

'There you go... Let's go now, I will help you.'

'Thank you...' Lorena managed to whimper.

Supported by Alexa, they got out of the throne room. In the hallway they heard Sasha and Charlotte snigger behind them.


	6. So Beautiful, So Delusional

**Chapter 6**

**So Beautiful, So Delusional**

'Did you see the way she was bleeding?'

'She was bleeding all over the floor, that dumb little bitch.'

Still laughing about what happened in the throne room, Sasha and Charlotte were in their bedroom. Sitting in front of their large dressing table, they were fixing their make-up, because after all, it was important for a woman to look good. They wanted to look beautiful every day to boost their self-esteem. Of course they knew about Stephanie's nearly outrageous jealousy of women who were prettier than her. Ever since Sasha and Charlotte worked in the castle, they were forbidden to go near the king without wearing their masks. They were given those masks for a quite strange reason; queen Stephanie would become completely paranoid if a girl would stand near her husband, afraid he could choose that girl over his own wife. Was it because they were younger than her? Maybe even more beautiful? Perhaps the mighty queen of Rexxan was insecure about herself... The servant girls were allowed to wear make-up, but as long as they would wear their masks over their eyes. If you had the guts to not put on the mask, the consequences would be horrible, terrifying even.

'What could she have possibly said to Stephanie to piss her off so much?' Charlotte said while brushing her hair.

'I don't know, probably something stupid.' Sasha answered nonchalantly. 'Homeless people are stupid, so they say stupid things all the time.' Charlotte nodded, agreeing with her friend.

Staring in the mirror, Sasha smiled at her reflection. My God, she looked so beautiful. A tanned skin, dark brown eyes, red lips, straight white teeth and long brown hair. Even when she was a little girl, she would even get attention from men. Sasha thought there was nothing wrong with being vain, it made you feel good about yourself. When she would put on make-up, she would be even more beautiful than queen Stephanie... Staring into the mirror, Sasha smiled from ear to ear.

'Charlotte?' she suddenly asked.

'Yeah?'

'How would I look like if I'd wear Stephanie's crown?'

Immediately Charlotte knew what her friend was talking about. She rolled her eyes in annoyance and let out a sigh.

'My God, Sasha, come on... we have talked about this!'

Yes, Charlotte would admit herself that she was a bitch, but that didn't mean she didn't care about her (only) friend getting into trouble. For months now, Sasha had the strong delusion she could become queen of Rexxan. Over the time she had been working here in the castle, the woman had convinced herself she was even more gorgeous than Stephanie. If she would play the game right, she could steal Triple H away from the queen. In her little world, Triple H would make Sasha queen, making her the ruler of Rexxan and bathing her in wealth. Sasha had confessed this story to Charlotte already, who at first thought it was a joke. If Stephanie would ever find out about her plan, she wouldn't hesitate to kill her right on the spot. Only somebody who was completely insane would try to do something like that. Yes, they were allowed to act like total bitches to everybody, as long as they wouldn't mess around with Stephanie or her husband. But the more times Sasha talked about it, Charlotte started to realize she was actually being serious about it. She tried to talk Sasha out of this, warning her about Stephanie. But it seemed like her words fell on deaf ears again.

'Admit it already, Charlotte. I would be a far more better queen than her, even more attractive. Ah, I already can imagine it all... Me seducing Triple H.. Him being head over heels with me... Me being crowned queen... All the gold of Rexxan for me...' Sasha softly chuckled, imagining all of the delusions. 'I already can feel my dream coming closer and closer... I noticed Triple H staring at me when he walked past me this morning. I'm almost there, Charlotte.'

'Sasha, just stop it already.' Charlotte let out a sigh and shook her head. 'Have you forgotten how much of a crazy bitch Stephanie is? If she ever catches you flirting with Triple H, she will murder you, you hear me?'

'Oh, she won't... Because by the time she catches us together, I'm already queen of Rexxan!'

For a moment it was quiet between the two.

'You're crazy, you know that, Sasha?' Charlotte said. 'You're absolutely crazy if you think you can pull this off.'

'I'm not crazy...' Sasha softly chuckled. 'I'm being realistic. I will get what I desire, because soon, this will be my empire.' She stood up and walked to the door. 'And not even that stupid hag will stop me.' Sasha opened the door and left the room, leaving Charlotte all alone. Shaking her head, she let out a sigh.

'You're going to get yourself killed...'

* * *

><p>'Are you feeling better now?'<p>

'A little bit, thank you...'

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Alexa pressed a cold wet cloth against Lorena's right eye, easing the pain. She just felt downright pity for her, that poor thing. This was her very first day in the castle and she already received a merciless beating from Stephanie. And by the looks of it, she was everything but gentle with her when she received her punishment.

Lorena herself did feel a little bit better, but she was not completely happy yet. The beating had shaken her up pretty badly, she was still in pain and Stephanie's words seemed to have burned into her mind. She still felt worthless, even if Alexa helped her. She felt like she wasn't even worthy to be patched up.

'What happened in there, Lorena?'

'I... I was scrubbing the floor, but it wasn't good enough for her. She kept on insulting me... I finally snapped and talked back at her. And then... this happened.' Lorena pointed at her battered face, feeling the humiliation creep up again.

'My goodness...' Alexa shook her head and took the cloth off from Lorena's eye, putting it back in a bucket of cold water. 'You should never talk back to Stephanie, no matter how angry you are. Everybody knows how ferocious her temper is, you were actually lucky you got away with only a beating...'

They both didn't say anything for a while when Alexa continued to treat Lorena's wounds. She had stopped the bleeding from her nose and lower lip by dabbing the cloth on the wounds as much as possible. The cold water helped to ease the pain, but her face would still be sore for the following days. This day, Lorena had learned a very valuable lesson in the castle... but she had to pay a price for it.

Her last bit of dignity.

'Alexa?'

'Yes, what is it?'

'Back in the throne room, Sasha and Charlotte mentioned something about a servant girl before me... who was she?'

Alexa let out a sigh and stared at the ground. Judging by her face, Lorena saw it was something she found very hard to talk about. But Alexa decided to give in and looked back at the battered young woman.

'That servant girl's name was Emma.' she spoke. 'Before you came here, she worked in the castle. I don't know what her background was or what she had done, but Stephanie hated her with her guts. She would bully and torment her every day, it was terrible, Lorena. Stephanie would punish her for the most ridiculous reasons, I could hear her crying every night. And with Sasha and Charlotte taunting her as well... working here was hellish for Emma. I don't know what happened, but I think she tried to escape one night by climbing out of the window of her bedroom. The gates are even guarded by night, so I think she tried to jump on the branches of a tree nearby the window. I don't know what happened, but... They found her the next morning. She had fallen all the way down the tower and broke her neck.'

A heavy chill ran up Lorena's spine. Her skin turned even more pale. Oh my God... what could Stephanie have possibly done to make Emma snap like that? Did she really try to escape or... did she kill herself? Or even worse...?

Realizing those possibilities made Lorena feel like her heart was pounding in her head.

Was she really safe here?

Or did she end up in Hell?


	7. Cold As Ice

**Chapter 7**

**Cold As Ice**

It looked like anything hadn't been changed since he had left the castle for the war.

In his private study room, Triple H stared at the old large map attached to the wall. This room was a bit of a sanctuary to him; he would often be left alone here to study the next move on an opposing army. He was a smart king, he knew what he was doing. His wife would rarely visit him in his study room, only Seth if they needed to discuss battling tactics or making the next move on the opposing army in an occasional war. Staring at the map reminded Triple H of how much of a mighty king he was. The land of Rexxan was bigger than his neighboring countries, even on this map the country displayed power. Before Triple H became king, he remembered Rexxan on the brink of being taken over by another king. But as soon as Triple H was put in charge, he attacked the army of that king and defeated him. After that war, Rexxan started to become mighty again, all thanks to Triple H. Battle after battle, he started to become mightier and mightier, earning the name 'King of Kings'. Even when Triple H would die, people would still talk about his legendary battles and his reign over Rexxan. He would become a legend in this world.

Triple H remembered the look on the face of the Teannian messenger when he saw the mutilated corpses of the soldiers of his queen; the skin on his face turned ash grey, his eyes went wide with horror. So much blood... it had turned the green grass red. Triple H was pretty sure the messenger had a hard time to contain the insides of his stomach. Looking him straight in the eyes, he told the poor man to report to the queen of what had happened to her men. He told him he would wait for her next move. Shaking like a leaf, the messenger turned around, got on his horse and went back to Teann as fast as possible with the image of the slaughtered soldiers burned into his memory. Stephanie watched with a devious grin on her face as she watched the man ride off. A day later, the messenger returned with the news everybody was waiting for. After telling the queen of Teann heard the horrifying result of the battle, she realized she was no match for the king of Rexxan. With her voice shaking in defeat and tears flowing down her face, she announced she would surrender. This battle would humiliate Teann for life. Upon hearing the news, the remaining soldiers of Triple H cheered loudly and praised their mighty king to the heavens. Stephanie chuckled in devilish delight, Triple H was sure she was imagining the face of the queen when she admitted defeat. Once again, Triple H had proved to another country that there was no way the King of Kings could be overthrown.

But as mighty as the king was... this battle left some certain scars.

Three knocks on the door made him snap out of his thoughts. 'Who is there?' Triple H asked when he turned around to face whoever wanted to enter.

'It's... it's me, Lorena, your highness... I brought you some wine.'

'Very well. Come in.'

The door opened and Lorena entered the study room with a golden chalice and a jug filled with red wine. But this time, even the study room which was adorned with tapestry and weaponry, couldn't amaze her. Trying to be as respectful as possible, she looked down at the ground while she walked towards the king. Even though it was the middle of the afternoon now, it didn't mean she wasn't shaken up anymore of the merciless beating from Stephanie. Afraid her husband might have a vile temper like her, she dared not to look straight at him and forced herself to stare at the ground. Alexa may have treated her wounds and stopped the bleeding, but her face was still in pain. How would she look like if she would look in the mirror later? Would she even want to know?

'Don't you just stare at the ground, girl.' Triple H said, slightly annoyed by this strange behavior. 'Put the chalice on the table and pour me some wine.'

Lorena nodded and put the chalice on the long wooden table. Her hands were slightly shaking as she poured the dark red liquid into it, she was so afraid to set him off. Now that she was closer to him, Triple H could clearly see the wounds on her face.

'What happened to you?'

Lorena blinked in surprise, nearly spilling a bit of the wine. Should she tell him of what happened in the throne room? She hesitated, but soon realized of what might happen if she wouldn't tell him. And she really didn't want to be punished again...

'I was cleaning the throne room and...'

'Hey. Look at me when you're talking to me.' Triple H said with a firm voice.

Lorena let out a soft gasp and looked up. Even when she was speaking to him, she didn't even dare to look at the king. Looking at his face made her even more nervous.

'I... I... I was cleaning the throne room. But Stephanie, I'm sorry, queen Stephanie told me that I wasn't a good job. I really tried my best, your highness. But she kept on insulting me and... I snapped. And then this happened...' Lorena pointed at her face, trying to hold back her tears. Showing her battered face to the king was so humiliating.

For a moment, Triple H didn't say a thing. All he did was looking at Lorena's wounds. But it didn't look like he had any sympathy for the servant girl. Eventually, he shook his head.

'If only I'd known how rude you really were.' he said coldly.

It was like she got another punch to the face. Lorena didn't know what to say. She wanted to say something, but at the same time, she dreaded another punishment. It became harder for her to control her tears. Her eyes were burning as she tried her best to hold them back.

'You are a servant here, remember?' Triple H said, the coldness didn't leave his voice. 'This is the life you have chosen. You will spend the rest of your life here in this castle, so you'd better obey your queen. This is your new life, Lorena. You should get used to it.'

Lorena couldn't believe it... how could somebody be so cold? Triple H's words made her feel even more miserable. Today she had been put on her place, but not in the most gentle way. The royal couple were making sure they would have complete power over her, she had noticed that by now. It was clear who was in charge here in the castle... She wanted to say so many things, but the words were stuck in throat, as if it had been filled with sand.

'You can leave now.' Triple H took a gulp from his wine. 'But heed my words, Lorena. This is your life now. Get used to it, all the servant girls here did that as well.'

'Yes, your highness...' Lorena managed to say.

Feeling completely empty, Lorena left the study room. She didn't know what to feel... Enraged? Sad? She didn't know, she just didn't know... But soon, the emptiness was filled with one single emotion.

Powerlessness.

Lorena finally allowed her tears to flow as she walked away from the study room.


	8. The Captured Assassin

**Chapter 8**

**The Captured Assassin**

Seven days passed by and each morning, Lorena woke up with a nauseous feeling in her abdomen and a single thought. 'How will it go today?'

As soon as she got up, Lorena checked her face in the mirror. The pain was gone, her lower lip had healed and her eyelids were a little less blue, thank goodness. Slightly touching her cheek, the servant girl hoped something like this would never happen again. That day had to be the worst day of her life; she was put on her place, the beating and the cold words of Triple H were making sure of that.

'This is your new life now. Get used to it.' the King of King's words echoed through her head.

These words were ice cold, but somehow, Triple H was right. She would never be able to go back to the streets again, her life would now continue in this castle. She got used to life on the streets soon after she became homeless, so maybe she could get used to this as well. Working in the castle was another battle of survival, just like on the streets. And she had survived it, so she would survive this too. It was just a matter of making rules for herself, like she did on the streets. Not talking back to the royal couple no matter how angry she was, ignoring Sasha and Charlotte, doing her work as good as possible, obeying every word... like that, she would stay out of trouble for sure.

During the past days she was still a bit shaken up, scared if how the day would go. Of course Sasha and Charlotte made remarks of her, they couldn't help but do it. Lorena did her work as good as possible, working her fingers off to the bone, just so the events of that day wouldn't repeat. But luckily, no punches were given. When Lorena reported to Stephanie after a chore was done, she noticed that the queen a smug smirk on her face. Perhaps she was proud of the beating she had given her... Lorena's mask was broken when it hit the ground during the beating. Such a shame, she thought it looked so pretty... Alexa didn't have any spare masks left, so it looked like she didn't had no mask to wear during her life in the castle. Stephanie surprisingly allowed it, as long as she wouldn't come near her husband... But why would she? Lorena barely saw Triple H, and if she saw him, he would ignore her.

But despite all the hard work and the rude words of Sasha and Charlotte, Lorena had something valuable; a friend. Alexa was the only friend she had in the castle and she was probably the first person who didn't care about her background. She would give Lorena encouraging words and would always be happy if she was allowed to work with her. During the chores she would often tell her amusing stories and jokes, giving Lorena a good laugh, something she really needed these days. With a friend like Alexa, life in the castle didn't look that grim anymore.

As long as she wouldn't talk back to the royal couple, ignore Charlotte and Sasha and remain friends with Alexa, Lorena would be alright.

* * *

><p>If there was one chore that was even worse than cleaning the throne room's floor, it had to be cleaning the hallways.<p>

The castle was huge, it would take probably a day to finish this horrible chore. Lorena was already scrubbing the floor and was pretty sure Sasha and Charlotte didn't want to help her out. Stephanie told her to do this chore with an almost devious glee. She knew this chore was hard and tiring, that's why she wanted Lorena to do this... all by herself. Lorena could already see herself scrubbing the floors and walls all day long while being forced to listen all of Sasha's and Charlotte's taunts. But luckily, when she went outside to pick up the water for the cleaning, Alexa approached her and offered to help her out. Lorena had smiled from ear to ear; it was really good to have a friend here.

But where was Alexa? Lorena had been scrubbing for a while now and the 'fairy' still hadn't shown up. Strange... However, Lorena was a patient person, she was willing to wait a bit longer. But still, Alexa was nowhere to be seen. That's when Lorena started to worry... Did Stephanie find out she wanted to help her? Did she doing anything to anger her? Was she being punished right now? Oh God, Lorena hoped not... Alexa had been the only person in the castle to show her kindness, she would feel horrible if she got punished for something. Just when Lorena wanted to quit the chore to go look for her, she heard rapid footsteps in the distance. She let out a sigh of relief; it was Alexa. She didn't look like she was harmed, thank goodness.

'I'm sorry I'm late,' the 'fairy' panted. 'Something happened on the courtyard...'

'What was it? Stephanie didn't harm you, did she?'

'No, she didn't.'

'Thank God. What happened, then?'

'The soldiers captured a man who had climbed over the wall... He had somehow snuck past the guards. Luckily there were a couple of soldiers outside training. When they caught him, he tried to run into the castle, but they captured him. He had a couple of knifes underneath his cloak... I think he was an assassin, Lorena.'

An assassin? This news gave Lorena goose bumps all over her arms. What would have happened if the soldiers didn't catch him in time...? He could have killed anyone who stood in his way, Lorena could have become a victim for all that mattered. But who was he after for? Queen Stephanie? Triple H? Or maybe both?

'Where did they take him?'

'I think they took him to the interrogation room at the dungeons. Why are you asking?'

Lorena couldn't help it, but she wanted to find out more. Curiosity was a bit of a bad habit to her, she had it ever since she was a little girl. When she was a child, she loved to explore everything around her, she just had to know it. That's why she would always look into wardrobes, open jars and check every room in a house when her parents were visiting somebody. Her little 'expedition' would stop when her mother told her to quit her shenanigans. Oh, her mother... Lorena missed her every day. Even in her adulthood, Lorena still couldn't help but being curious.

'I'm going to the dungeons, I want to know what's going on.'

Alexa let out a gasp. 'Are you crazy?' she asked. 'What if they catch you? Servant girls aren't allowed to be in the dungeons during an interrogation!'

'Alexa, trust me. I've been living on the streets for three years, I can easily sneak in and out without them catching me. Don't worry, I will be back before you know it.'

'Alright then...' Alexa slightly nodded. 'But please, Lorena... be careful.'

'I will. I promise.'

* * *

><p>Walking down the stairs, deeper and deeper underneath the castle, Lorena got closer to the dungeons. There was not a single bit of sunlight here since there were no windows, the only source of light were the torches attached to the walls.<p>

Lorena tiptoed down the stairs, making sure no guard or soldiers would hear her. She often stopped to look behind her shoulder to see if anybody was following her, but so far, she was all alone. Would Sasha and Charlotte know about the assassin? Lorena softly scoffed and shook her head. Of course not, she was pretty sure they wouldn't care one bit about it. No, they were probably too busy tormenting another unfortunate person in the castle.

She heard some voices, she was getting close. The staircase let her to a two big wooden doors; one would lead to the interrogation room, the other to the dungeons. Lorena could hear voices behind the door on the left, that one had to be the interrogation room. The door had a small window in it, a perfect way to spy on somebody. Practically holding her breath, Lorena took a look.

She didn't see much, but was just in time to see Stephanie giving the captured assassin a kick in the stomach. The man was chained up against the wall, nowhere to go and completely vulnerable to Stephanie's thirst for punishment. Lorena could see Triple H as well, along with some guards.

'Tell us now, you filthy pig.' the queen of Rexxan hissed near the assassin's ear. 'Who send you here? Was it that bitch from Teann? Are you with others?'

For a moment, the assassin's face was crunched in pain, but he decided to ignore the pain in his stomach and glare at Stephanie. Then he spat her right in the face.

'Fuck you.' he responded.

The cruel queen of Rexxan didn't respond, but her husband did. He charged at the assassin and kicked him right in the face. Lorena could hear the teeth break, it made her stomach clench together in horror. Blood and teeth were spat out and splattered all over the ground.

'You'd better tell us right now who send you.' Triple H growled. 'Or else I will kick out the rest of your teeth!'

The assassin spat out some remaining blood and looked at the King of Kings. But despite the immense pain in his mouth, he grinned at him. The missing teeth in his mouth and the dripping blood gave him a nearly monstrous appearance.

'What you have done to me right now is nothing compared to what we did to your daughters...'

For a moment it was completely quiet in the interrogation room.

Triple H's eyes flamed with anger as he let out a furious roar. With his sight being clouded with a red mist, he grabbed the legendary tool he had used so many times on the battlefield that was lying in a corner; the sledgehammer. Lorena's eyes went wide with shock. Oh God, was he going to...?! The servant girl had guessed exactly right. Triple H charged at the assassin, who immediately realized his days as the assassin of the queen from Teann were over.

Triple H raised his sledgehammer in the air and aimed for the assassin's face. The sledgehammer hit his face with a gruesome impact, shattering his skull and staining the wall with blood and pieces of brain.


	9. Bite Marks

**Chapter 9**

**Bite Marks**

Oh my God...

This was too much. Lorena watched in horror as the faceless body of the assassin slumped over and the blood and pieces of brain dripped down the wall. Lorena had seen corpses of homeless who were unfortunate enough to run into sadists who took joy in killing them as gruesome as possible, but this... This was nothing compared to the way the victims were killed. This was too gruesome... too cruel...

No... this was way too much.

Lorena opened her mouth to scream, but quickly remembered she had to stay quiet. She covered her mouth to contain the scream, but unfortunately a soft whimper escaped.

But as soft as the whimper was, it was probably loud enough for her to be discovered. Triple H looked right at her as he spotted her terrified face. The look in his eyes startled her even more; they still expressed sheer anger, blood had splattered on his face. It looked like the face of a murderer... Was he going to kill her too now after what she had seen? Panic mixed with fear and clouded Lorena's mind.

'Get out of here!' a voice in her head screamed. 'Get out of here, before he kills you!'

The servant girl let out a soft gasp, turned around and ran up the stairs as fast as she could. She could hear Stephanie's voice behind her. 'Get her! Don't let her escape!' So they were going to kill her after all! Lorena was wrong, she was all wrong... Working in the castle wasn't safe at all, they were still people who wouldn't hesitate to kill her, just like on the streets. How would they kill her? Would Triple H crush her face as well? But there was no time to think about that; she needed to escape, right now! The stairs were steep and her legs started to hurt, but Lorena refused to stop for a rest. If she would rest now, the consequences would be horrifying. She could hear footsteps behind her. Oh God, they were already after her!

Finally, Lorena reached the top of the stairs and opened the door. Without closing it, she let out a panicked scream and ran through the hallway. Her heart was pounding in her head, her throat and lungs felt like burning. If they would catch her, Stephanie would do something much more horrifying than giving her a beating. Lorena looked behind her, but much to her surprise, there were no guards behind her. Did she outrun them? She hoped so from the bottom of her heart, as least now she was a bit closer to escaping this hell of a castle. She would go back to her old life, but she preferred living on the streets than staying here any longer. Lorena opened a door at the front of the hallway, entering the main hallway of the castle. She was getting closer, she could nearly feel the taste of freedom on the tip of her tongue. She was sorry about the friendship with Alexa, but she had no choice but to escape. She pushed the heavy door open and ran outside.

So close, so damn close!

Quickly looking around her, Lorena saw some soldiers training in the courtyard. But none of them were noticing her so far, thank God. They had no idea she had witnessed a gruesome murder in the interrogation room... She was so close, she couldn't stop now! Lorena decided to take one last run and ran towards the gates. And much to her surprise and relief, this time the gates weren't guarded. This was probably her only and last chance to escape this hell! Lorena thought her heart was going to explode, it was beating that fast. Just a little bit more! She ran as fast as she could towards the gates. Even if the gates were closed, that wouldn't stop her from escaping. She would climb over the damn wall if she had to, she didn't care, she had to get out of here no matter what. Lorena was now almost halfway the courtyard. Almost there!

But just when she was convinced she could escape...

'Release the dogs!' a voice shouted in the distance.

Lorena could feel her heart drop a bit.

'What...?'

Just then, she heard the most bloodcurdling barking behind her. Lorena let out a loud gasp as sweat of fear ran down her temples.

'Oh God... no... no, no, no!'

The barking got louder and louder, and only judging by that, Lorena knew that these dogs were trained to attack and kill everyone who dared to intrude the castle... or try to escape from it. The barking was so loud, she couldn't even hear her own panicked thoughts. The gate was so close now, she had to run a little more, she had to make it...

But there was no such chance.

Just before she could touch the iron of the gate, Lorena felt a horrible pain in her leg, as if someone had stabbed her there with a set of knifes. She could feel her flesh tearing and blood flowing down her leg, she screamed in pain as she dropped to the ground. One of the dogs had bit her right in the leg and violently shook his head, as if it was trying to tear her leg off. Lorena screamed and tried to escape the animal's jaws by kicking at its head with her other leg. But unfortunately for her, the dog wouldn't let go. That's when the other dogs decided to join in; the second dog bit her in her arm, the last one bit her in the other leg. Lorena started to scream louder, feeling the blood flowing down her skin as the pain only got worse and worse. With her other arm, she repeatedly punched the dog which was the closest to her, but it wouldn't budge.

Was this the way she was going to die?

Being torn to shreds by ferocious dogs on the courtyard?

This wasn't fair... this was horrible...

Lorena stopped struggling, hoping it would all be over soon.

Suddenly, a loud command was heard from the voice who commanded the dogs to be released. The dogs immediately let go of Lorena's limbs and backed away, leaving bloody bite marks all over them. Lorena was shaking like a leaf, she had never experienced so much pain in her life before. Softly whimpering, she heard footsteps coming closer at her. Looking up, she saw Stephanie, mockingly grinning from ear to ear. Triple H and two guards were standing near her.

'You dumb little bitch...' the queen of Rexxan chuckled. 'Did you really think you could escape from this castle? You were even more pathetic than I thought... Get her up.' The two guards walked towards Lorena and roughly grabbed her arms, forcing her to stand on her legs.

'For this little escape attempt, you won't be allowed to eat a single damn thing for a week. Prepare yourself for seven days of hell, you little pathetic bitch.' Stephanie turned around and walked away, heading back to the castle.

But Lorena's humiliation wasn't over yet. Triple H grabbed her chin and forced her look him in the eyes. His eyes still expressed anger.

'You're so damn ungrateful, you know that?' the King of Kings hissed. 'I gave you shelter and work here in this castle, and this is how you repay me! Without me, you would be nothing. You disgust me!' He let go of her chin and followed his wife.

The guards let go of her arms and Lorena immediately dropped to ground, sobbing loudly. Because of this failed escape attempt, her following days were marked. By hunger. Back on the streets, she often wouldn't eat for two days if she was unlucky, but seven days... would she even survive that?! This was going to be far more worse than a beating, the hunger was going to be the real torture.

Lorena felt more humiliated and powerless than ever. She continued to sob as she started to fear the next seven days.


	10. Hunger And Torment

**Chapter 10**

**Hunger And Torment**

With sweat running down her face and dark circles under her eyes, Lorena scrubbed the floor of the throne room as fast as she could. Her thin arms were shaking, they were hurting so much. The bite marks were healing, with a little luck there wouldn't be any scars left. But right now it was the least of Lorena's concerns; this was the fourth day of her punishment and it felt like her stomach was slowly rotting away.

She could barely sleep at night because of the hunger, but if she did get some sleep, she wouldn't feel it for a while. Sleep became the only way to escape reality, even if it didn't last for long. Lorena would often have dreams about her childhood, back when she didn't have to worry about a thing in the world and everything around her was harmless. She saw herself when she was a little girl. Long platinum blonde hair that reached her lower back, big blue eyes which twinkled in curiosity and a soft blush on her pale cheeks. Little Lorena would run through the cornfields outside Rexxan, close to her family home. It was cherished memory of the woman; it was a moment where she felt like the happiest girl on Earth. The sun was shining brightly in the blue sky, it felt like the whole world was smiling at the little girl. Lorena ran through the cornfield, she smell of corn was the greatest smell in the world. Her heart was beating in excitement. She reached the end of the cornfield and looked at the sky, the sunlight felt so good on her face. This is what true happiness was to this little innocent girl...

But the time to wake up eventually came and Lorena was brutally thrown back into the harsh reality.

The hunger would became stronger every morning, it nearly drove her mad. Back on the streets she wouldn't eat for two days if she was very unlucky, but she had never eaten nothing for so long. Breakfast was denied for her, only the other servant girls would eat. It was hard for Alexa to see her friend that hungry, but of course Sasha and Charlotte couldn't give less than a damn. In fact, they thought her attempted escape attempt and the punishment were hilarious.

'My God, Lorena.' Sasha chuckled. 'You are actually more stupid than I thought you were!'

'Could you knock it off?!' Alexa shouted at her. 'Leave her alone, just for once!'

It hurt Alexa to see Lorena like this, she wanted to help her. On the first day of her punishment, she had tried to sneak in some food for her at night, but apparently something went wrong. When Lorena met Alexa again the next day, she saw to her horror that Alexa had been punched a black eye. Alexa hadn't attempted to give her any kind of food every since.

But the hunger was not the only thing Stephanie could use to torment the poor woman. She had to scrub the floor of the throne room every day as a part of her punishment. This work was torturous, at the end of the days her arms and her fingertips were burning in pain. It was a good way for the queen to keep a constant eye on her. Grinning from ear to ear, she watched Lorena scrubbing the floor the best she could, trying her best to avoid any more punishment. Her stomach would growl nearly every five minutes, you could almost hear it echo through the throne room. Whenever her completely empty stomach would growl painfully, Lorena cringed from the inside, because she knew this was the cue for Stephanie to bully and belittle her.

'You thought you were so special when you tried to escape... Ha! Look at you now!'

'You are even lower than a worm, Lorena!'

'Look at you... you're so thin, like a twig... you're so ugly, disgusting!'

'You are so thin, not even the dogs would eat you!'

'Scrub faster, or you won't eat for another week!'

Lorena could feel the tears burning in her eyes. The humiliation was stronger than ever, she didn't know what was hurting more; her decaying stomach or the constant bullying of Stephanie. The queen would often get up from her throne to make the torment more physical, slapping her in the face, kicking her in the stomach and pulling her hair, all while still verbally taunting her.

And she did that all with a sadistic grin on her face.

At these moments, Lorena wanted to scream in agony, but she tried to contain it. Because if she did scream, it would only spur Stephanie on. Her stomach was completely empty, the heartless words burned into her mind, feeling completely powerless...

Lorena wondered if she would even survive these hellish seven days.

* * *

><p>Triple H had never seen anything as pathetic as this servant girl.<p>

His wife did allow her to drink, but he could see that didn't ease her pain. He watched her becoming thinner and weaker every day, even holding the rather heavy jug of wine she brought him became a hard task for her. The circles under her eyes were darker, perhaps the hunger had already traveled with her in her dreams. Whatever last bit of dignity she had was now completely vanished, she was nothing but a mere shade of her former self. You practically count the bones in her ribcage, she was that thin. She had grown just as thin as the unfortunate residents in the slums of Wrestar. The bite marks had healed more or less, but now bruises decorated her pale skin; perhaps his wife was responsible for that.

But despite her being in a horrible shape, Triple H had no sympathy for the servant girl.

She had called this all upon herself, she had made the foolish decision to try to escape. That was absolutely unacceptable, she had to be put on her place. There was no time here in this castle to have any sympathy for disobedient servant girls. Triple H decided not to pay any attention to her.

But as the week progressed, her weakness started to rather annoy him.

She hadn't eaten anything for five days and right now, Triple H started to doubt she would survive the week. Her body was shivering and sweat was running down her face from exhaustion, as if she had a serious fever. Her stomach was now practically screaming for food, it was growling that loud. The servant girl was on the verge of collapsing, she could pass out at any moment, but that didn't stop Stephanie from tormenting her. The queen started to threaten her with another week without food if she didn't work harder. And to make it only worse, Stephanie wanted her to serve their food at dinner time. She watched in amusement as Lorena looked at food with the burning tendency to grab some of it and stuff it her mouth, but she knew that if she did, her punishment would be even worse. It was like dangling a bone in front of a dog.

Eventually the moment came where she would collapse. On the sixth day of her punishment, Lorena had entered Triple H's study room with the chalice and jug of wine, ready to pour her king his drink. But now she was weaker than ever, the hunger had drained her from all her energy. Her vision turned black as she fainted to the ground, shattering the jug and spilling wine all over the floor. She came to when a bucket of water was poured over her head. Triple H shook his head. One more day without food, and she would die of starvation.

She needed energy to work properly again.

During dinner time, Stephanie ordered the heavily weakened Lorena once again to serve the royal couple their food. Shaking like a leaf, Lorena put the plates of food on the table one by one. Cooked boar, mashed potatoes, vegetables, wine... it smelled so delicious... it made her mouth water. She heard Stephanie chuckling with glee, she must have known how hungry she was. By this time, Lorena was willing to kill somebody for a piece of food, no matter how small it was, she was that desperate. This how the most unfortunate homeless must have felt like...

Triple H saw her staring at the food.

'Here. Have this.'

The King of Kings leaned forward to the cooked boar and pulled out the apple that was stuffed in its mouth. He handed it over to the starving servant girl. 'Take it.'

'Hunter! What do you think you're doing?!' Stephanie shouted angrily. 'She still has to undergo her punishment!'

'Quiet, Stephanie.' Triple H calmly replied, unmoved by the queen's anger. 'One more day without food and she will die. We need her to get back to work.'

Lorena's jaw dropped when she stared at the apple she was holding. My God... was this for real?! Did he just allowed her to eat something?!

The servant girl didn't hesitate for one moment and launched her teeth in the apple. She could feel the juice trickling down her throat as she filled her mouth with a big piece of the red fruit.

'Thank you... Thank you, your highness...' she spoke with a full mouth, not taking her time to swallow down the pieces. Tears flowed down her face as she continued to devour the apple.


	11. Attack On The King

**Chapter 11**

**Attack On The King**

If there was one important part in a day of the life of Triple H, it had to be working out on the courtyard.

Staying in shape physically, as well as mentally, was a big priority for the King of Kings. As a ruler of such a mighty country, you needed to have fine skills and good health to rule and fight on the battlefield. He had been training for years, even before he became king of Rexxan. Triple H had been injured many times during training, as well as on the battlefield, but that didn't stop him from fighting for his country. Physical pain was only temporary, it would go away after you would claim victory; that was an important lesson he had learned throughout his life. Yes, Triple H would often end the training with bloody slashes and bruises over his body, even a broken nose one time, but he didn't care about that. He knew he became stronger and stronger, the injuries didn't do anything to him. The daily training made him feel invincible, and he showed that on the battlefield.

The training partially made Triple H the man he was today.

It was a warm day, a good afternoon to practice his fighting skills. Captain Seth had been his training partner for years, he was almost just as skilled as the King of Kings, which is why he gave him the title of the army's captain. Seth owed all of his fighting skills to Triple H, if he hadn't chosen to train with him he would still be a lower class soldier.

'Are you ready, Hunter?' Seth asked with a confident grin as he grabbed a sword, his weapon of choice, from the racks. He had lost a couple of matches with Triple H, but this time he was pretty sure he would win this round.

'You know me, Seth... I'm always ready for a fight.' Triple H responded, grabbing a sword and shield. His personal preference was the sledgehammer, but you always had the chance to lose a weapon during a fight. That's why it was always good to train with another weapon. The other soldiers halted their training to watch their king train with the army's captain; watching those two fight was never boring. Triple H tapped his shield with the blade of the sword. Seth knew what that meant; the training as begun.

The captain charged at the king and wanted to strike him already, but Triple H was smarter than him. Just before the blade of Seth's sword could touch his skin, Triple H hit him on the chest with his shield, knocking him to the ground. But the captain wouldn't give up just yet, no, he wasn't trained like that. He immediately got up and attacked the king once more. For a while the sounds of clanging swords and grunts filled the courtyard, along with the cheering of the other soldiers. Watching Triple H and Seth fighting was pure entertainment. These two men were the strongest men in the castle, it was always a thrill to watch them fight. Like always, Triple H and Seth put a lot of effort into their training. They attacked each other, dodged each other's attacks and one of them got the upper hand now and then. But eventually, Seth was defeated by a blow to the face with Triple H's shield. He fell on the ground, he wanted to get up, but Triple H pointed at his throat with the tip of his sword. Seth groaned in annoyance; the training was over. He had lost once more.

'You need to work on your defense, Seth.' Triple H said when he helped the captain to get up.

'Damn, I almost got you... But I will defeat you next time, you will see.' Seth answered with a grin, wiping away some blood from a little cut he received during the training.

'My lord! My lord!' a voice shouted in the distance. Everyone looked up. A soldier ran towards the king, clearly out of breath. Triple H cocked his eyebrow. Strange... he had never seen this soldiers before on the courtyard. He didn't remember seeing this face when he selected the men who were worthy of becoming his soldiers.

'I'm... I'm sorry to interrupt you... but...' Unfortunately the soldier still didn't catch enough breath to speak.

'Calm down. What's the matter?' Triple H asked.

The soldier took a deep breath, it seemed like that calmed him down. 'I have just received some news about Teann...'

'Teann?' Everything just a got a little bit stranger. The last time Triple H received news coming from Teann was when they had won the battle...

'Yes, my lord... The queen...'

Suddenly, the 'soldier' swiftly pulled out a large dagger and planted the blade deep inside Triple H's abdomen. The King of Kings let out a strangled groan of pain as the metal cut him open. The add more pain and damage to his body, the 'soldiers' twisted the dagger, making more blood coming out of the wound. The pain mixed with shock displayed on Triple H's face made the 'soldier's' mouth curl into a devilish grin.

'The queen of Teann sends you her regards.'

Just then, the 'soldier' was subdued in quite a gruesome way; Seth decapitated him with one swift slash of his sword. Even when his head hit the ground, he still expressed that horrifying grin.

Triple H collapsed to the ground while cradling his wound. The pain was immense, the wound wouldn't stop bleeding...

'Damn it!' Seth shouted when he helped the King of Kings to get up. 'We have to get him back inside the castle! Look for the medic! He needs his wound to be treated, right now!'

* * *

><p>Last night Lorena ate her first meal in seven days like a hungry wolf.<p>

It was a piece of chicken and some vegetables, a regular dinner for a servant girl, but after those hellish days it tasted like a king's meal. Damn, it felt so good to eat something again. From that moment one she would consider each meal as a blessing. At least now she had the energy to do her work.

She had just finished cleaning the sheets of the royal's couple bed, and of course, like every piece of furniture in the castle, it looked beautiful. It was large, was made out of oak and had scarlet red sheets. Lorena had never in her entire life slept in a bed like that, she wondered how it would feel like... but she wouldn't dare to try and sleep in it.

Lorena wanted to go downstairs to the throne room to report her finished chore to Stephanie when she suddenly heard the queen's voice in the distance.

'Hurry up! Get him in there!'

The servant girl blinked her eyes in surprise. What was going on here? Was someone getting punished again? But Stephanie's voice didn't sound angry, like it always did when she was shouting at somebody. No, it sounded rather... panicked.

Just when she wanted to head downstairs, she met Stephanie, running up the stairs, followed by Seth who was supporting Triple H. He had his face crunched in pain... what was wrong with him?

'Get out of the way, Lorena!' the queen snarled at the servant girl.

'Your highness, what's going on?'

'None of your business! Move!'

Lorena immediately obeyed her and got of the way, dreading another gruesome punishment if she wouldn't comply. The three walked past her, Triple H was practically hobbling at this point. He could feel his head getting lighter and lighter, he wasn't sure if it was due the blood loss... or that something else entered his body with the blade. They got to the bedroom as fast as possible, but Seth forgot to lock the door behind him in a hurry.

The servant girl heard the pained groans from Triple H echo through the hallway, it made her skin crawl. It was the kind of groan someone would emit if he was in true pain, which was Triple H's case. Why did he have his face crunched in pain? Did something happen on the courtyard. But by the look on Stephanie's face earlier on the stairs, something went terribly wrong.

Once again, Lorena couldn't control her curiosity. She just had to know.

She walked towards the open bedroom door and carefully took a peek. The sight shocked her; Triple H was lying on his bed, his abdomen was completely covered in blood. Dear God, what happened to him?! Lorena covered her mouth with her lips, trying to suppress a gasp.

'Where the hell is the medic?!' Stephanie shouted at Seth.

'I ordered the soldiers to go fetch him, he could be here at any moment.'

'You already said that ten minutes ago! Damn it, Seth!'

Stephanie looked at her badly injured husband and frowned. She immediately noticed there was something wrong with him. He was shivering and sweating, as if he had a really bad fever. His lips slowly turned pale, it looked like the blood was being drained away from them. Triple H himself started to feel weaker and weaker by the second...

'What is wrong with him, Seth?!'

'I don't know!' The captain of Triple H's army had seen many soldiers who were stabbed during a fight, but he had never anybody with this injury show such symptoms. Something must have entered his body when he was stabbed, as if the blade of the dagger had been dipped into something...

'Your highness... I know what is wrong with him.'

Both Seth and Stephanie looked up. From a little distance, Lorena had seen the symptoms... and she knew damn well what was wrong with the King of Kings. She had seen this symptoms many times in her past.

'Go away, Lorena!' Stephanie shouted. 'This is...'

'I know, I know, my queen! But please, listen to me...' Lorena walked into the bedroom and took a look at Triple H's wound. She could see a little trickle of purple liquid trickling out, down his abdomen, staining the sheets. Just like she thought...

'He has been poisoned.'

'What?!'

'Whoever did this to him, he really wanted him to suffer. I have seen this many times, your highness. You see, when I was a child, I grew up on a farm. Many farmers have been poisoned like this, this is the poison of the Rexxanish red-tailed viper.'

It was true what Lorena said. Growing up on a farm outside Wrestar, she had been living with cattle for almost her entire life. But farming wasn't as easy as anybody thought it would be; there were times were plagues of rats, worms, mice and other kinds of vermin tormented the farmers, ruining their crops and making it worthless to sell on the market. But if there had to be one vermin who had to be dangerous, it had to be the Rexxanish red-tailed viper. As beautiful as this creature may be, their poison had been lethal in some cases. Cattle who had been bitten by this viper would often drop dead in a day, making their meat inedible. Almost every farmer had been bitten by the Rexxanish red-tailed viper once, and if they didn't get treated, they would die a painful death.

And Triple H was doomed to die if the wound was left untreated.

'I know how to treat his wound.' Lorena calmly said. 'He needs to eat a special kind of herb, it's called the sunlight herb. In the meantime, I need to keep his head cold to subdue the fever a bit, like a wet cloth. Please, your highness, allow me to take care of him.'

Of course Stephanie had heard about this kind of herb before, it grew outside Wrestar, not too far away. For a moment, she didn't say anything, as if she was thinking about the offer. She took another look at her suffering husband, then looked back at Lorena.

'Alright.' she answered. 'You seem to know about this, so I will let you treat him. But I warn you, Lorena...' Stephanie's voice became cold and she narrowed her eyes, glaring at her. 'If you let my husband die, I will have your head impaled on a spear. Got it?!'

Lorena nodded. 'Yes, your highness.'


	12. Two Different Minds

**Chapter 12**

**Two Different Minds**

'How are you feeling, your highness?'

'Ugh... It could've been better.'

It was a miracle that Triple H hadn't succumbed to his wound yesterday. The medic arrived just in time before he had lost more blood. It was a long and painful process, but the medic managed to stitch up Triple H's wound. There might've been the chance that it would leave a scar, but Triple H didn't care about that; he was already glad with the fact that he hadn't bled to death. But he wasn't out of danger just yet. The poison was still in his body and it had to get out fast. While Lorena kept his fever down a bit with a cold wet cloth, Stephanie send some soldiers to fetch the sunlight herb outside of Wrestar. Their horses had never ran so fast in their entire lives. But luckily they found the herb and returned to the castle before the fever got any worse. As soon as they handed the herb over to the queen, she ordered Lorena to give them Triple H since she knew how to use them. Lorena carefully fed the herb to Triple H; he had never tasted something that bitter before.

From that moment on, Stephanie gave Lorena the task to care of Triple H. With the queen's threat to kill her if her husband succumbed still in her mind, the servant girl did her absolute best to keep him alive and cure him. The fever had dropped a bit, which was a good sign. It meant the herb was working. But he wouldn't get better from eating the herb just one time, no, it had to be repeated a couple of days. He will still weak, there was still some poison inside him. If the treatment would stop now, he would die for sure. That's why the only things Lorena would have to do were giving him a portion of the herbs three times a day, keeping down the fever with a cold wet cloth and giving him plenty of rest. Like that, Triple H should make a good recovery.

'Well, at least you are feeling a bit better than yesterday, right?'

Triple H let out a soft sigh when he allowed Lorena to put a wet cloth on his forehead. He really needed it, he felt like he was burning from the inside.

'I'm craving for wine...' Triple H mumbled. 'Lorena, go to the kitchen and bring me some wine.'

Lorena shook her head when she removed the cloth from his forehead. 'I'm afraid I can't do that, your highness.'

'What? Why not?'

'If you drink wine, the alcohol will break off the herb's effect and it will become worthless. I can bring you some water, if you want...'

'Damn it, Lorena!' Triple H exclaimed angrily. 'I am your king! If I want wine, you bring me wine! Do you...'

Triple H halted his rant when he felt his stomach violently clenching together. He tried to control it, but he miserably failed and started to gag. Lorena knew exactly what was going to happen, she had already prepared for it. She quickly grabbed an empty bucket next to her. She handed it over to Triple H, who had already sat up in bed and hunched over. He opened his mouth and violently threw up in the bucket with a painful cramp in his stomach.

'It's alright, my lord, it's all normal...' Lorena soothed, rubbing him on his back to calm him down a bit. Like the reducing of the fever, throwing up was a good sign in this case. It meant that the body was forcing out the poison, the herb was doing its work.

After he was done, Triple H put the filled bucket next to the bed and lied down again, letting out a soft groan. 'If I only I could've seen it coming...'

'What do you mean, my lord?'

'That the imposter who did this to me was a damn assassin send by the queen of Teann!'

'It's not your fault, I think nobody had seen it coming.'

Lorena grabbed the full bucket, the vomit inside produced an anything but pleasant smell. 'I'm going to empty the bucket. I'll be right back, my lord.' The servant girl turned around, opened the door and left the bedroom.

Triple H let out an annoyed grunt and stared at the ceiling. Damn it... how could he have been so stupid? He should had recognized that man on the spot, it was because of his inattention that he had ended up like this. How did he get inside the castle anyway? Triple H started to think. Perhaps the assassin he had killed in the interrogation room hadn't entered the castle on his own after all... Maybe when all the attention was centered on him, the other assassin had the change to sneak in unnoticed and get his hands on some armor. That son of a bitch... It was a good thing Seth decapitated him.

The door opened, making the King of Kings snap out of his thoughts.

'I'm back, your highness.' Lorena said, walking towards the bed.

'Good.' Triple H replied, still staring at the ceiling.

Lorena frowned in curiosity. During her stay in the castle, she had never seen Triple H like this. He always looked like a powerful man, even when he was around Stephanie. But seeing him staring at the ceiling like that... it made him look like he was sad.

'Is there something wrong?' she carefully asked.

'What should be wrong with me?' Triple H replied in a nearly emotionless voice.

Lorena opened her mouth to say something, but she quickly shut it. Should she say something back? She decided to give it a shot.

'I think I know what is bothering you, my lord... I know I'm just a lowly servant girl to you, but please listen to me; this wasn't your fault. Everyone, no matter how low or high their status are, makes a mistake once. It's nothing to be upset about. And... I have always believed that making mistakes makes you more human. It's only natural.'

'You don't understand it, do you?' Triple H mumbled. 'I had been foolish enough to let that Teannian son of a bitch near me!'

For a moment, Lorena didn't say anything.

'I understand your frustration, my lord.' she spoke calmly. 'But it's alright now. The man who tried to kill you is gone and you are still alive. That's what matters now.'

It was true what she said. He could have died that same day for all that mattered, but it didn't happen. He was still alive and on his way to recovery, and this servant girl was making sure of that. Triple H stared at Lorena for a moment. He remembered the day when he picked her up from the streets, thinking she was even lower than an insect. He wanted to give her worthless life a little bit of dignity, that's why he had brought her here. She had meant nothing to him at first, he was cold towards her and allowed Stephanie to beat her and torment her.

And then she offered to take care of him...

But why?

'Why are you taking care of me?' Triple H asked. He just had know.

'Excuse me, your highness?'

'You are taking care of me... but why? I have been treating you like you were nothing from the very first day you arrived at the castle, so why did you offer to help me with my recovery?'

'I... I believe that nobody deserves to suffer so much pain, my lord. I have seen many farmers suffer so much agony because of the poison, it's almost inhuman. I know I haven't received much education during my life, but I believe that every human deserve a chance to survive. Watching you in so much pain... it was so saddening. That's why I did it, my lord.'

Triple H didn't know what to say, he was absolutely stunned by what Lorena said. He didn't do a thing to stop Stephanie from tormenting her, she endured almost a beating daily, she almost got torn to pieces by dogs, she nearly died of starvation... and yet she still found the forgiveness in her heart to take care of him.

But before the King of Kings wanted to say something back, Lorena had already opened her mouth to speak.

'I saw what you did to the assassin back in the interrogation room...' she said. 'And please pardon me about this opinion, I honestly think what you did was wrong, your highness.'

'You listen to me now, Lorena...' Triple H said as he frowned. 'That man shouldn't had made the foolish mistake to enter my castle and putting all the lives here in jeopardy. I am the king and I rule this country. I want what's best for my kingdom!'

The assassin had also made the horrible mistake to mention his daughters... and that mistake had cost him his disgusting life.

'Nobody deserves to die such a horrible death!' Lorena exclaimed indignantly.

'You know nothing about ruling a kingdom...'

'Why do you always have to solve everything with violence? I have heard many stories about you, my lord. All the battles you have been in were drenched in blood. There has been no story where you didn't kill somebody on the battlefield. Things don't always have to be solved with blood spilling, my lord.'

'If using violence will protect my kingdom, then I will use it!'

Suddenly, Triple H could feel himself burning from the inside, giving him the goose bumps all over his body. The fever was kicking in again and Lorena saw it. She put the wet cloth back on his forehead.

'I understand you want to protect Rexxan, your highness...' the servant girl said. 'But you can solve problems without violence. It's better, you will see.'

But it was not only about the soldiers that died on the battlefield; it was also about their families, who were awaiting their return in sheer anxiety, not sure whether their son, brother or husband had survived on the battlefield. Lorena remembered the hysterical woman in the crowd when Triple H and Stephanie returned to Wrestar. Her life must have been completely destroyed by now.

'Lorena?'

'Yes, my lord?'

'When will I get my next portion of those herbs?'

'You will receive them at the end of the day. I think you should be completely healed in few days, your highness.'


	13. Sasha's Demise

**Chapter 13**

**Sasha's Demise**

Who the hell did that little bitch think she was?!

Alone in her bedroom and sitting in front of her dressing table, Sasha brushed her hair, glaring at her reflection in the mirror.

She had been in a really bad mood lately, and she knew exactly why.

It had all started since Triple H was attacked on the courtyard. Sasha and Charlotte were going to clean the floor of the throne room when they saw Seth entering the castle, supporting the heavily injured Triple H. The captain of the army loudly called out for Stephanie, who rushed out of the throne room and saw her injured husband. She immediately ordered him to be taken to the royal couple's bedroom to have the bloody wound treated. But it was not only Stephanie and Seth fearing for the king's life. Sasha realized her chance of power and luxury was slipping away. If Triple H would die of his injury, she would never become queen of Rexxan and she'd be doomed to spend the rest of her life as a servant girl, forced to serve that miserable hag of a Stephanie until the day she'd die. The realization nearly made her panic, but she controlled herself. If she would freak out now, that would only make Stephanie suspicious. It would definitely trigger her nearly sickening jealousy.

Much to Sasha's relief, Triple H had survived the attack. But that's when the real trouble started...

She had heard from Charlotte that Stephanie put Lorena in charge to take care of the King of Kings. Her. Lorena. That little worthless bitch Triple H had picked up from the streets like she was a stray dog.

Sasha nearly exploded from anger when she heard the news. Why? Why her? What did Stephanie see in her? She hated her just as much Sasha did. Lorena didn't have the right to be with Triple H in the same room! That little, meager, sickly pale, worthless bitch! Just thinking about her taking care of Triple H could already set Sasha off. She should have been the one to be in his presence, not her! Of course Sasha would have taken her opportunity if she was put in charge, she would try her best to seduce Triple H when she was helping him with his recovery. She would make him completely forget about his queen, she would make him think only about her beauty... and then he would make her his new queen.

During the days of Triple H's recovery, Sasha grew more paranoid. Lorena wouldn't often leave the King of Kings' bedroom for hours... What was she doing in there? Was she really helping him with recovery, or was there something else going on between the two...?

She was trying to snatch her chance to become queen away.

That thought made Sasha even more angry and paranoid. She could picture it already; the pale bitch lying next to the king in bed, gently touching his muscled chest and seductively whispering flattering words in his ear. She was a filthy homeless, she would be capable of doing that. Sasha was convinced about that. That little slut was going to take her chance away if she didn't do something about it. She was wasting her time, she had to stop her before it was too late. And she would do that by force, if she had to. Sasha was the one who had to become queen, not her! Not that worthless Lorena! She was far more beautiful than her, so Triple H would pick her over that little whore anytime.

Putting the brush down, Sasha got up and exited her bedroom. She would stop Lorena from snatching her dream away.

And Sasha already had a plan of how she would do it.

* * *

><p>'Here you go, my lord.'<p>

Filling the chalice with water, Lorena gave it to the King of Kings, who just had his portion of sunlight herbs. He swallowed the bitter portion down with a big gulp of water.

'Thank you, Lorena.'

Over the past two days, the servant girl watched the health of Triple H getting better and better, much to her relief. The fever was almost gone and he was throwing up less; almost all the poison was out of his body, the king should be back to full health in two more days. It made Lorena feel good to help him, she felt useful, like she mattered something to him after all. Triple H hadn't been acting cold towards her as well, he was a little bit friendlier to her. Because after all, she was the one who practically saved his life.

Triple H saw with how much care and patience Lorena took care of him these two days. Besides the one time when they discussed his ways of solving problems with the other countries, they didn't had any other discussion since. She was still humble to him, she was polite. She wanted him to be honest about his health when she asked him about it. And much to his relief, Triple H was feeling a bit better every day. He could feel his strength returning, the poison had weakened him badly. And it was all because of her, this servant girl, that he made a good progress on his health. During this time, she had shown nothing but kindness to him, something he hadn't experienced in a long while. For the past years he had been way too busy to put other kings and queens on their places, there had been no time for a bit of kindness. And despite everything that had happened to Lorena in this castle, she still had found a moment to be kind to somebody.

Triple H felt that she was... different, somehow.

'Oh... I see I've ran out of water. Are you still thirsty, my lord? Should I get some more?'

'Yes, please.'

Lorena nodded and grabbed the empty jug. 'I will be right back.' She turned around and exited the bedroom.

But what happened next immediately caught her by surprise.

She was just a few footsteps away from Triple H's bedroom when Sasha unexpectedly pushed her against a wall.

'There you are!' Sasha hissed angrily. 'Who do you think you are?!'

Lorena blinked her eyes in surprise. What did she do to her? She didn't do anything, she had barely seen her these days, only when she was having her meal in the kitchen. And even then, Lorena wouldn't speak to Sasha, she would only talk with Alexa.

'What are you talking about?' Lorena asked.

'You know damn well what I'm talking about!' Sasha answered, nearly seething with anger. 'You are trying to take my well-deserved throne away, don't you?'

'Throne? I...'

'Don't act like you don't know anything with me! I know exactly what you're doing!'

'Sasha, I have no idea what you're talking about, honestly!' It was true, Lorena had no idea why Sasha was so angry with her. She hadn't done anything, the only thing she did was taking care of Triple H. But the defending words fell on deaf ears for the jealous Sasha.

'You are trying to seduce him, aren't you?'

'Seduce him?!' That was ridiculous! Lorena would never seduce Triple H, she had never thought about that even once! She had absolutely no feelings for him, he was just her king, that was all. He was twenty-one years older than her and he was already married, so why should she have any intentions to seduce him?

'You heard me!' Sasha started to get more angry by the second. 'I know what you are doing, but let me tell you something, you bitch! That throne and crown belong to me! I will be queen! I am the one who should bathe in wealth and rule this country, not you, nor that old witch Stephanie! You stay out of my way, or I will hurt you so badly that you'll wish you were never born! I am the one who will win the king's affections, you hear me? That throne, that crown of that bitch, this kingdom, it will be mine! Mine!'

'Oh, really?'

Sasha could feel her blood freeze in a split second upon hearing that familiar voice.

Stephanie wanted to make sure her husband was making progress during his recovery, that's why she wanted to go to the bedroom to take a look at him. She had heard every single word that came from Sasha's mouth... now she knew the servant girl's true intentions with her husband.

With her face frozen in horror, Sasha turned around, facing the queen. Lorena could feel her heartbeat rising. Oh no... this wasn't going to be good...

'What did you just say, Sasha...?' Stephanie sounded friendly, but it didn't make Sasha (nor Lorena) feel comfortable at all. It sounded so eerie, it made their skins crawl.

Sasha thought she couldn't breathe anymore, she was that scared. Her secret was out... Oh God... she was so scared of what was going to happen next.

'I... I... I didn't say anything, my queen.' Sasha answered, her voice slightly trembling. Lorena was shocked by this answer. Oh no, she was only going to make things worse...

'That's strange... I was pretty convinced that you were saying something about... seducing my husband to become queen? Could I be right about that?' Stephanie voice sounded even more eerie now.

Sasha couldn't say a word, it felt like her throat was full of sand. A trickle of sweat ran down her face as she realized her life could be over... Lorena didn't dare to breathe, she was practically holding her breath now.

'I'm sorry to tell you this, Sasha... but it's not going to happen.'

Before Sasha could say something back in order to defend herself, Stephanie rapidly grabbed a dagger from underneath her skirt and launched the blade in Sasha's stomach. The poor woman cried out in pain when she felt the metal cutting through her skin and muscle. Lorena's eyes widened in horror, she covered her mouth as she let out a muffled scream. But Stephanie's murderous rage wasn't over just yet... She pulled the blade out, only to violently stab it back in Sasha's stomach again, repeatedly stabbing her all over with the viciousness of a wild animal. Sasha let out a strangled scream as she felt the worst pain she had ever experienced. Blood flowed down her ripped stomach and splattered on the floor. She could feel her head becoming lighter and lighter as all her blood drained away from her body...

Stephanie stabbed her one last time before stopping her gruesome attack. Sasha dropped to the ground, falling in the pool of her own blood. Lorena couldn't have done anything during the attack, she was completely frozen in fear the whole time. The queen stared at the mutilated body for a little while with a contemptuous look in her eyes. Then she walked away like nothing happened. The blade of her dagger was dripping with blood, leaving a trail of small blood drops through the hallway.

'Oh God... Sasha...'

Shaking like a leaf, Lorena knelt down and supported the other servant girl's head. It wouldn't last long before Sasha would die of her wounds; her eyes were widened in a mix of disbelief and pain. She let out a cough, drops of blood splattered out of her mouth. There was practically nothing left of her stomach, Stephanie had stabbed her so much that there was almost no piece of skin left intact. Rolling her eyes in the back of her head, Sasha let out her last breath.

She was gone.

'Sasha?'

Charlotte was in her bedroom when she was alerted by Sasha's screams, moments before she died. She ran around the corner and halted when she saw the body of the woman who was her friend.

'Oh no...' she whispered.

It had happened. Stephanie found out. She knew that, for sure.

Charlotte walked towards Sasha's body and knelt down.

'What happened? What happened to her, Lorena?' she softly asked.

'S-Stephanie...' Lorena stuttered. 'S-she heard her talking about becoming queen... She pulled out a dagger and...'

Charlotte let out a sigh and shook her head. 'Damn it, Sasha...' she murmured. 'How could you have been so damn reckless?'

One thing was for sure now to Lorena.

Queen Stephanie wouldn't hesitate to kill somebody if she was angered.


	14. The Past Of A Servant Girl

**Chapter 14**

**The Past Of A Servant Girl**

'Is something wrong with you today, Lorena?'

'W-what?'

Hearing Triple H's voices made Lorena blink her eyes and snap out of her thoughts. The king had taken his portion of sunlight herb and swallowed it down with a gulp of water when he noticed the tired look on the servant girl's face. She had slightly dark circles under her eyes, as if she didn't had a good sleep last night.

And that was true. Watching Sasha being brutally murdered right in front of her eyes was one of the most horrifying things she had ever seen. Back when Lorena lived on the streets, she often witnessed helpless homeless being merciless beaten by thugs or other homeless, but it was nothing compared to what she had seen yesterday. She had seen how Stephanie stabbed her over and over and how the blood splattered on the ground. Remembering Sasha's scream made her skin crawl. A little while after the gruesome murder, Stephanie ordered Lorena to clean up her blood, much to her horror. Looking at the blood while cleaning the floor made her sick... Stephanie had ordered two guards to remove Sasha's body from the castle. Lorena wondered what they did to the body; did they bury her somewhere? She knew she and Charlotte had taunted and bullied her all this time, but still... nobody deserved to die in such a gruesome way. Lorena could barely sleep at night, because when she closed her eyes, she saw the horrifying sight playing all over again in her mind. That's why she was so tired today.

'You look like you're going to fall asleep at any moment.' Triple H said. 'Didn't you sleep well at night?'

Lorena shook her head. 'No, my lord.'

'Why's that?'

'It's... because...' Lorena could hear Sasha's strangled scream echo through her mind again, making her shiver all over her body. For a little moment she doubted whether she should tell Triple H about the shocking incident, but she decided to tell him either way.

'Yesterday when I went to get some water for you, Sasha confronted me about something I didn't do. She told me she wanted to become queen instead of Stephanie... Queen Stephanie heard her and... and...'

'She murdered her.' Triple H answered.

'How did you know, your highness?' Lorena asked, surprised by the answer. She didn't tell him anything about it until now, maybe someone else already did...

'Stephanie told me at night when we went to sleep.'

Lorena slightly widened her eyes in shock. My God... How could somebody simply confess a murder before going to sleep, like it was a meaningless daily event? And how could the queen sleep at night, knowing she had killed a servant girl in cold blood? Her blood would forever be on her royal hands, but Lorena doubted the queen would care about this, judging by the way she walked away from Sasha when she was dying.

Killing somebody meant nothing to Stephanie.

'I always knew Stephanie was capable of murder.' Triple H said calmly. 'Ever since I knew her, she had this ferocious temper. And if she gets angered to this degree... well, you saw what happened.'

Triple H shook his head. 'Sasha had made a huge mistake, revealing her true intentions while Stephanie was listening... That foolish woman.'

Lorena nodded. Despite what happened, she had to agree with that. Sasha was reckless, she should've never done that. If she had kept her mouth shut, she'd probably still be alive by now.

'Tell me something, Lorena...'

'What is it, my lord?'

'For a while now, I have been wondering about something... How did you become homeless? What is your story? I'd like to hear it.'

Lorena bit her lower lip. She had never revealed her past to anybody, not to her fellow homeless, not even to Alexa. She felt like her past was a part of herself, something precious. Remembering it made her happy, but also sad at the same time. Of course she had some good moments in her past, but they were overshadowed by the events that led to her struggle for survival. Should she tell her life story to the king?

Triple H saw the doubt on her face.

'Listen...' he said. 'I won't use your past against you. You have been taking care of me during these days, and so far, I have entrusted my health to you. I trust you, Lorena. You helped me with my recovery, I'm very grateful to that. After everything you did for me, I won't use your past against you, like I said. I promise you that, Lorena.'

When Lorena interacted with Triple H in the beginning, he did nothing but acting cold towards her. But now, during this week, something had changed... They still had the king/servant girl relationship, but it was different, somehow... Triple H was a bit friendlier to her, something she didn't expect. But it felt good, somehow. Lorena could really use some friendly words after everything that happened. She noticed something when he promised her to not use her past against her; sincerity. Lorena could sense that he was speaking the truth. Ever since she was a child, she could sense it if somebody was speaking the truth or not, it was just another part of her.

Lorena decided to entrust the King of Kings with her earlier life.

'I was born on a farm outside Wrestar. I was the only child in the family. My parents didn't have much, we only had some cattle and a small field of corn; we had to live from that. It wasn't much, but at least we had something for an income. My parents always worked their fingers off to the bone, day and night. My father went to the market to sell what we had, he was already glad if he sold one thing, at least he would get some money to support us, even if it wasn't much. My mother was a good woman, she had always given me love throughout my entire childhood, no matter how tough we had at some times. There were days where my father couldn't sell anything on the market, so we couldn't eat anything and we often would be hungry for days. But my parents would often put her own misery aside to comfort me whenever I was sad. But despite everything, I was happy on the farm. I grew up playing in the hay and with the animals, the farm played such a big role in my childhood. I had some friends, children from other farmers in the area, I would often play with them as well. We managed to survive for a couple of years, but then everything changed... In the middle of the night, the farm had caught fire. We managed to escape in time, but we lost our home. We hoped to find shelter in Wrestar. My parents sold the cattle and the field to buy a little home in the center of Wrestar. In an attempt to earn some money, my father started a smithy. But the problem was that he wasn't good in making weapons, the results would always be poor and he wouldn't earn any money. At one point we had to steal food to remain alive, we were that desperate... I can imagine my parents' embarrassment, back on the farm they wouldn't steal food from others, even if they were hungry, they were humble people. But now food was more needed than ever. We couldn't pay our landlord either. I tried to find work, I honestly did, but I couldn't find anything. My father would never give up, he wanted to support his family. One day I found him lying dead on the floor in his workplace. I think the stress became fatal to him... Shortly after my father's death, my mother fell ill. We wanted to buy medicine, but we didn't have any money. We didn't have anything. I tried my best to keep my mother alive, but... she died, nonetheless. I was all alone and I couldn't handle the smithy. The landlord was finally fed up with all of this and kicked me out. I was forced to live on the streets for three years... and now I'm here.'

For a moment, it was completely quiet in the bedroom.

Triple H had listened to Lorena's story with awe. He had never met somebody with a past like that before... Watching your parents struggle like that your entire life, it must have been hard for anybody. Living in poverty, losing everything, trying to survive only to lose everything again. A miserable cycle. My God, a life like this would turn any sane person desperate. A whole life centered around survival and then overcoming all of this...

'Well, Lorena...' Triple H said. 'After listening to your past... I think I have the right to call you one of the strongest persons I have ever known.'

'Do you mean that, my lord?' Lorena blinked her eyes in surprise. Being called a strong person by the king... she had never expected that! A warm feeling spread across her chest as her heart started to beat faster, she was so honored.

'I mean that.' Triple H answered. 'Thank you for sharing your past with me.' When he met her when she was a homeless back on the city's square, he had never expected that woman with the pale skin and blue eyes hiding such a sad past. And only now he had found out about it...

'Thank you, my lord...' Lorena said with a slightly shaky voice.

'Listen to me... For me, you don't have to say 'my lord' or 'your highness' anymore, you can stop that. You can call me Hunter.'

Lorena nodded, smiling. 'Yes, your hi- I mean, Hunter.'

Hunter... so that was his real name.

* * *

><p>Just like Lorena expected, Triple H was fully recovered from his poisoning the next day. Four days of the treatment with the herbs had completely cleansed his body of the nearly fatal poison; it was worth the fever and the vomiting. When Triple H woke up that morning, he could feel the last bit of his power returning. Getting out of bed, he was able to walk properly again. The last bit of his nausea he had felt those days had faded away as well.<p>

Triple H was back and he was determined to be stronger than ever. The queen of Teann had tried to kill him in a last resort, but even at that she had miserably failed. That foolish hag... The news of the king surviving her cowardly attack would embarrass her and her entire kingdom, putting her to shame in front of all the countries. She would forever be mentioned as a coward in the history of this world. Her name could never be cleansed again.

Although many were happy with Triple H's recovery, one certain person had developed paranoia during the days...

Queen Stephanie was convinced at first that Triple H would never fall for a little mongrel like Lorena, which was one of the main reasons why she allowed her to take care of her ill husband. Nobody could ever be charmed by a sickly pale, meager, worthless excuse of a specimen like her. After she would be done with helping Triple H, she would go back to being a pathetic servant girl again, only good for beatings and humiliations. But as the days went by, Stephanie became slightly paranoid. What if there was a chance they had become closer? There was always the possibility, because after all, Lorena had to visit the King of King's bedroom many times. What if she was also planning to become queen, just like that foolish bitch Sasha? And what if... Triple H had become attracted to her?

Stephanie didn't want to take any risks.

She ordered Lorena to be brought to the throne room. No, she wouldn't her punish her now, she wasn't angry enough for that. But she would give her something else that would remind her not to go near her husband ever again...

'Lorena...' the queen spoke, sitting on her throne. The servant girl was kneeling on the ground, trying to be as humble towards Stephanie as possible. 'My husband has fully recovered from his poisoning. Your duty has been fulfilled. But since you have been with Hunter so many times during these days, I won't allow you to have any more contact with him from this day on. You will not speak, nor look at him. I will forbid you from doing all of this. If you do so, I will not hesitate to punish you. Do you understand?'

Lorena could suppress a gasp just in time. What? Why now? Just when she and Triple H had gotten a bit closer... But she understood it.

She had to obey her if she wanted to avoid punishment...

The servant girl nodded. 'Yes, your highness.'


	15. When A Rule Is Broken

**Chapter 15**

**When A Rule Is Broken**

Forbidding Lorena to speak to him... Triple H shook his head.

He knew his wife was outrageously jealous, but this... this was just getting ridiculous. After they were married ten years ago, the King of Kings soon found out about this habit of Stephanie; she refused to let any servant girl (or any other woman) have any contact with him, angrily yelling at them and threatening them with punishment if they were even standing a little too close near him. Triple H thought this was a normal phase for any married woman, but it soon became clear that this trait came to stay. Ten years of marriage did nothing to ease Stephanie's jealousy.

The queen had told him about this new rule during dinner time, on the same day he had been recovered. Triple immediately knew why she had forbidden Lorena from speaking to him; she had been visiting him many times during the recovery, that definitely must have made Stephanie paranoid. Not only was she jealous of women coming near her husband, she was also paranoid that he might choose another woman over her because of their beauty; this is why she forced the servant girls to wear masks. Strangely enough, Lorena didn't wear one... maybe Stephanie thought she wasn't pretty enough, thus not making her a threat. But Triple H didn't feel anything for Lorena, honestly, he didn't. Yes, he was curious about her life story, but he wasn't interested in her in a romantic way. He never was, and he never would be. Her strength to survive her past may have amazed him, but other than that... no, he felt nothing else for her. She was just a servant girl, and she would always be that. It just showed how delusional Stephanie was, thinking he would ever fall for that servant girl...

He would never feel anything for Lorena and there was no reason for her to not have any contact with him; Triple H made that perfectly clear to Stephanie after she unexpectedly announced the new rule. He hoped she would come to her senses after hearing that and realize how ridiculous her unnecessary jealousy was.

A knock on the door made the King of Kings look up.

'Come in.'

The door opened and Lorena entered the study room. Stephanie ordered her to bring her husband wine, but she made one thing perfectly clear; she was only allowed to say 'yes, my lord' and 'no, my lord', she was forbidden to have any lengthy conversation with him, or else... Lorena had to obey Stephanie if she didn't want to receive any punishment.

'Ah, Lorena.' Triple H said. 'It's you. You can put the wine on the table.'

'Yes, my lord.'

The servant girl put the chalice on the table and poured the wine. It was such a shame... they had such pleasant conversations back when he was ill, but now she wasn't allowed to say anything to him anymore. She had taken care of him for days, and this is how the queen repaid her. This was so unfair, but she had to obey.

'Thank you.'

Lorena nodded. Just when she wanted to leave the study room, something on the wall caught her attention... It was the giant map. She studied it, but she couldn't understand one bit of it. No matter how hard she tried to figure it out, the map was nothing more but figures with non-uniform lines and incoherent words she couldn't read.

'Is there something wrong?'

Triple H's voice made the servant girl snap out of her thoughts. He had noticed her staring at the map with a confused look on her face, as if she had never seen a map of this world before.

'Erhm... no, my lord. It's just that...' Lorena let out a soft sigh. 'I have never studied a map in my life before. But please understand... I can't speak to you for long, I have to go. I'm sorry.' Lorena turned around and wanted to leave the study room, but Triple H didn't want her to leave just yet.

'Did Stephanie forbid you to speak to me?' he asked. There was no doubt that Stephanie had already told Lorena about the new rule.

It was silent for a little moment. 'Yes, my lord.' the servant girl answered.

'I thought so. Listen to me, Lorena. I know why my wife told you not to speak with me. She's jealous, she always had been. But I talked to her, I reassured her there was nothing going on between us. I suppose she has understood the message. You have nothing to fear, you can speak to me freely.'

Lorena thought about it. If Triple H told her about their true relationship, then maybe Stephanie has calmed down about this a bit? Would she listen to her husband? Perhaps... Triple H looked like a calm man to her, he seemed like he could handle and reason with her.

'So... I will not be punished if I speak to you?' she asked, still unsure about this whole situation.

'Not under my watch.' Triple H answered.

That reassured Lorena a bit more. Hearing that from the King of Kings made her feel less insecure and more safe.

'Can you tell me why you can't read that map?' This had caught Triple H's attention; everybody has seen a map in their life, why not she?

'Well, you see my lord...'

'You can call me Hunter.'

'R-right, Hunter...' Lorena stared at the floor, slightly ashamed of what she was about to tell. 'Do you remember the time when I told about my past? That I have spend my entire childhood on the farm?'

'Yes, I do.'

'Well, you see... Back on the countryside, there were little to no residents who were able to read and write. And even if somebody could, it was still very limited to a few short words. I went to a small school with some other children, we only had one teacher who had to learn us everything. But there is no such thing as proper education on the countryside... We would only go to school one or two times a week, most of our lessons were repeated. When I was seven years old, the teacher fell ill and died, so there was nobody else left in the area who could read or write. All the children, including me, stopped going to school and instead we helped our parents out on the farm...' With a pensive look, Lorena stared back at the map. 'I can't read, nor write. I don't even know the names of other countries, let alone knowing where Rexxan is located. It's also because of this I couldn't find any work when my parents needed money the most...' Lorena let out a soft sigh. This was so embarrassing to confess this to the king.

Triple H had found out something new about her, and it was something he didn't actually expect. But when he thought about it, it actually made sense. The countryside was known for being poor, it was needless to say that there was no place for proper education. When Triple H was young, he received the finest education there was, making him the man he was today. He had a private tutor who would learn him everything he needed. He found it all natural to be well educated, but after hearing Lorena's story, he realized not everyone had a fair chance in life for good education...

'How about I will tell you a bit about the other countries?' he asked.

'What?'

'I think you need to learn a bit more about the world. Allow me to learn it all to you.'

Lorena blinked her eyes in surprise. Why would he offer to do this for her? She was pretty sure he had a good education throughout his life, why was he willing to this for a former peasant girl?

'Look.' Triple H pointed to a large area on the map. 'This right here is Rexxan.'

'My God... I didn't know Rexxan was that big!' No, Lorena never thought Rexxan could be so big; for her, Rexxan was just the countryside and the streets of Wrestar. She had never traveled anywhere else in the country, this was all of Rexxan she knew.

'And this right here is Teann.' Triple H pointed to a smaller area next to Rexxan. He continued to show her other countries, like the countries of Ringof, Shimm and many others. With each country, the king explained how it looked like and what they were known for, since he had traveled to nearly every one of them. Ringof was once a poor country near the sea, but thanks to trading goods overseas with other countries, Ringof became one of the wealthiest countries in this world. The houses over there were made out of gold, he had seen it with his old eyes. Shimm was known for having a long royal line of unmarried queens, ruling the country generation after generation. Lorena didn't interrupt him once, she was so amazed by the words rolling over Triple H's tongue. Her knowledge about the world increased more and more, all thanks to him. She couldn't stop listening to him.

Triple H was such a smart king...

* * *

><p>With her ear pressed against the door, Stephanie could feel her rage starting to burn with heat of the fire from hell.<p>

That little bitch!

The queen of Rexxan wanted to yell in fury when she heard them talking to each other, but she controlled herself. She had sent Lorena to her husband's study room for a reason; she wanted to test her. She wanted to make sure her words had reached her mind and remember to not contact Triple H for as long as she'd stay in the castle. And right now, she had made the foolish mistake to ignore her rule. Triple H had told her at dinner last night that there was nothing to be jealous about, that there was nothing going on between him or that pathetic servant girl.

But Stephanie hadn't listened to a word her husband said.

She had ignored his words completely, because she didn't believe him. She only trusted herself, and she thought her jealousy was the right emotion to feel. Eavesdropping the conversation like a spy in the dark had only cemented her jealousy and paranoia... and it also made the anger in her rise.

Pure anger.

Punishment.

That little bitch deserved punishment!

With a thin red mist clouding her sight, Stephanie walked down the stairs and headed towards the courtyard. She already had the perfect punishment for the servant girl in mind, and she knew exactly who she had to talk to. This man wouldn't hesitate for a second to perform the punishment, she was convinced about that. If Lorena enjoyed being around a man so much, well... she would get what she wanted.

After this punishment, she would never dare to be around Triple H ever again.

Stephanie opened the main door and walked outside to the courtyard. Like every day, the soldiers were training, all willing to get stronger and faster to serve their king and country. Stephanie looked around her, searching for one specific soldier. And she found him. He was busy training with another soldier, but it was clear who was the stronger one. The soldier Stephanie was looking for charged at his opponent with his heavy shield and knocked him over like a ragdoll. Afterwards, he dropped his shield, got on top of the opponent and started punching him in the face like a savage. Blood flowed down his jaw line as the soldier could feel the skin on his face bursting. The savage soldier didn't stop, as if he was enjoying delivering his opponent so much pain. After a while he got up, allowing the battered soldier to crawl away like a wounded animal. The training session had come to an end.

Stephanie grinned with sadism, she enjoyed to watch a good fight. She walked over to the victorious soldier and tapped him on the shoulder. He turned around, facing the queen.

'Queen Stephanie?' he asked. 'What do you want?'

'Randy...' the queen spoke. 'I was looking for you. Listen to me and listen to me good. I want you to do me a favor...'


	16. Savage

**Chapter 16**

**Savage**

**Warning: this chapter contains a scene depicting an attempted rape. If you do not feel comfortable with this subject, skip it.**

'Hey, Lo!'

While Lorena was heading towards the royal couple's bedroom to change the sheets, Alexa caught up with her. She smiled from ear to ear, she was in a good mood today.

'Good day to you too, Alexa!' the servant girl answered. It seemed like her friend's mood was contagious, she felt like smiling too now. 'What's up with the nickname all of a sudden?'

'I thought it sounded nice for you, do you like it?'

'Yes, I like it, it sounds cute, thank you.' For as far as Lorena remembered, she had been called by her full name her entire life, even by her parents and the children she had befriended during her childhood on the countryside. Alexa was the first person to ever call her 'Lo'. And she was right, her new nickname had a nice ring to it.

'I'm glad about that. So... how's life been treating you lately?'

'Quite well, actually.' Lorena softly chuckled. 'It feels good to not be punished for something in a while.'

'I can imagine that... I've heard you had been taking care of the king when he was attacked a few days ago. It's a miracle he survived... I bet he must be very grateful to you.'

That was true. Triple H expressed his gratitude by changing his attitude towards her. He was more friendlier, more warmer. Lorena hadn't heard a cold answer for days. When he told her it was safe to talk to him, she believed him. The two had built up something a king and a servant girl in the history of Rexxan had possibly never done... they had developed a small friendship. She felt comfortable when she was around him, it felt good... safe, even. She had forgotten the cruelty Stephanie had inflicted on her during in the castle when she was with him, it didn't last long, but it was nice either way. For once she didn't have to be afraid of punishment from Stephanie.

Or so she thought...

'He has been a lot kinder to me after he recovered.'

'He should be. After all, you saved his life.'

'You know, Alexa... when I started working here in the castle, I always thought Triple H could only be cold and stern. He often made me feel like I was even lower than an insect by the way he spoke to me... but after what happened, he showed me that he could be different.'

For a few seconds, Alexa didn't say anything... as if she was thinking about her answer.

'You know...' the 'fairy' said. 'Triple H used to be a kind king most of the time. Stern if he had to be, but kind. But ever since the war against Teann... he had changed.'

'Changed? How?' What made him change his behavior? Lorena wanted to know, she had to know.

'Well... you see...'

Before she could reveal what had happened, Alexa was suddenly interrupted when a tall man with his arms covered in tattoos roughly pushed her out of the way, smacking her against a wall. It was Randy, the most ruthless soldier of Triple H's army. If there had to be one man who had to be feared on the battlefield as well as the training sessions, it had to be Randy. As handsome as this man was, he was one of the deadliest soldiers Triple H had ever trained. It was like he enjoyed inflicting as much pain on his victims and opponents as possible, he would express a twisted kind of glee when the army marched towards the battlefield to slay other soldiers. He grabbed Lorena's wrist; it felt like his hand was made out of iron, the grip was so painful.

'Let go of me!' Lorena shouted, trying to break free from the painful grip.

'You are coming with me, little bitch.' Randy responded with a grin on his face, as if he was looking forward to do something horrible to her. He attempted to drag Lorena away with him, but the servant girl refused to let this brute take her away. 'No! Let go!' she screamed. Lorena tried to get away from him, hitting him on his arm with her fist, desperately trying to get loose from the agonizing grip. But Randy wouldn't budge.

Alexa got up on her feet and ran towards Randy. She started hitting him on his back with her fists and pulled his arm, hoping she could break her friend free. 'Let go of her, you son of a bitch!' she yelled at the top her lungs. Of course she knew Randy, everybody in the castle knew about his dreadful reputation. Randy was a downright bully, Alexa was convinced he wasn't afraid to hurt a woman. She had seen the battered faces of the soldiers after facing a training session with the ferocious soldier; a man who would do something like that would also be able to do something to a woman. She had to get Lorena away from him, or else he would something horrible to her!

'You're getting annoying...' Randy growled. He hit Alexa on her forehead with his elbow with full force. The poor servant girl collapsed to the ground, groaning in pain. The impact of the elbow against her forehead made her see black spots.

'Alexa!' Lorena screamed in sheer panic. 'You bastard!' she yelled angrily to Randy. 'You will pay for this, I swear!'

'Enough with this horseshit!' Randy hissed. 'You are coming with me!'

The ruthless soldier dragged Lorena away. She still wouldn't give up her fight, though. She screamed at the top of her lungs, kicked at his calves and continued to hit him on the arm with her fist, but with no avail. Despite her efforts, she was forced to give up the struggle; he was way too strong for her.

Alexa watched helplessly as Randy dragged Lorena away, around the corner, out of her sight. Her screams became softer as softer as the distance between them increased.

'Oh no... no no no no no!' she sobbed, covering her mouth with her hand while she burst into tears.

'Alexa!'

The familiar voice made the servant girl turn around. Triple H was on his way to his study room when he saw the servant girl sitting on the ground. He could see a red spot developing on Alexa's forehead, as if she had been hit with something.

'What happened here?' he asked.

'L... Lorena...' Alexa sobbed.

'Lorena? What happened to her?' Upon hearing the servant girl's name, his heart skipped a beat. 'Tell me Alexa! What happened?!'

'Randy... Randy took her...'

Randy? What did he want from her? For as far Triple H knew, Lorena and the soldier had never met for one time. Unless...

Triple H felt like his heart stopped beating.

Oh God.

No.

Stephanie must have send him. She must have ignored his words and found out about the conversation they had earlier that day.

'Where did they go, Alexa?!'

'I... I think he headed towards the dungeon. I'm not sure, but...'

Alexa didn't get the chance to finish sentence. Triple H rushed towards the dungeons, hoping he could stop Randy just in time in whatever he was planning to do to her.

* * *

><p>'What is this? What are you going to do to me?!'<p>

With her eyes widened in pure fear, Lorena looked around her. Randy had brought her to the dungeon, on the stairs she had attempted one last try to get away from the soldiers. She scratched his arm and kicked at his legs, but just like the previous times, Randy refused to let go of her. He was determined to take this disobedient servant girl to the dungeon, just like the queen had ordered. She wanted him to partake in the punishment. When he asked about his role, she told him all about it... and when he heard what he had to do, he grinned from ear to ear.

It had been so long... he was more than willing to partake in the servant girl's punishment.

When they entered the dungeon, Randy opened another door on his right, leading to the most dreaded room in the entire castle... the torture room. Once an unfortunate soul would enter this room, he would know he would never leave the room as the same person. By the time the torture session would be over, the culprit would've already gone insane from the agonizing pain inflicted upon him. The horrifying session would often stop if the victim would mentally break and tell the king everything he had to know; most of the time, it were soldiers who were accused of conspiracy against the king who would end up in the torture room. But if the queen, who took great pleasure in watching these pathetic excuses of men being brutally tortured, didn't want the grotesque interrogation to be stopped, the victim would be in for more agony. There had been one time where a supposedly treacherous soldier was tortured to death...

Spotting the devices in the racks increased Lorena's fear even more. Knifes, hammers, pliers, everything that could hurt you was displayed in front of her eyes. Oh God, what were they going to do to her? Would they knock out her teeth, mutilate her face, or break her bones? Just then, Lorena spotted a familiar person sitting on a chair in a corner. Queen Stephanie grinned from ear to ear; if the devil would ever sport a grin, it would look like that one.

'Well, Lorena...' the queen said. 'It looked like I wasn't clear enough when I told you not to talk to my husband again.'

'B-but... he told me I... c-could talk to him freely...' Lorena's voice was shaking, she was so scared of what was going to happen.

'Oh, did he now?' Stephanie got up from her chair and walked towards Lorena. She roughly grabbed the servant girl's jaw and forced her to look her in the eyes. The queen's blue eyes were ice cold, colder than the ice in the darkest winter. It terrified Lorena even more. 'I will make something perfectly clear for you, you bitch.' Stephanie hissed angrily. 'I don't give a single damn what my husband says. You disobeyed my rule, and for that, you have to be punished! Randy, tie her up!' The soldier pulled Lorena's towards a wooden device were escape was absolutely impossible; the rack. Lorena thought her heart would jump out of her chest when she saw the wooden frame, she was so terrified. 'Please... no...' she whimpered. But both Randy and Stephanie were deaf for her plea. The soldier tied her wrists to the upper bar of the torture rack. During the progress, Stephanie pinned her down to prevent her struggling to get free. The ropes Randy used was thick and it hurt the skin on her wrists. Lorena was now tied up, making her completely defenseless against what was going to happen next.

'Your highness, I'm begging you, please...' Lorena whimpered, on the verge of tears. 'Please let me go, and I promise I will never speak to husband ever again...'

'Too late for that.' Without any warning, Stephanie slapped her right across the face; it felt like her cheek was set on fire. 'I'm going to make sure you will never, ever, disobey me again. I have the perfect punishment for you, I think it will fit you perfectly. If you enjoy being with a man so much, well... then you will surely enjoy this. And guess what... I'm going to watch you suffer.' Just then, when Stephanie finished talking, Randy had completely stripped himself of his armor. When Lorena saw this, she could feel all her blood draining away from her face. Letting out a loud gasp, she clenched her eyes shut, she didn't want to see it. Now she fully understood what her punishment was. This was the punishment prostitutes in the brothels of Wrestar would receive if they didn't want to submit to their clients' perverted wishes; Lorena had heard stories about that while surviving on the streets. She had never thought this would happen to her and she wished it never would occur.

But now, it was inevitable.

Oh God.

No.

Tears of pure fear rolled down her face. She desperately tried to break free from restrains, but with no avail.

'No no no no no! Please!' she hysterically screamed. 'Not this! Anything but this, I'm begging you!'

But Lorena's plea only amused Stephanie even more. This was exactly what she wanted; hearing the servant girl scream as she realized what her punishment would be.

'Go ahead, Randy.' Stephanie sat down on the chair, ready to watch the gruesome show.

'My pleasure.'

Randy grinned like a madman when he reached underneath Lorena's split skirt, searching for her undergarment. When he found it, he practically ripped it off from her body. He positioned Lorena's lower legs over his arms and lifted them up, now he had full excess to her. Lorena couldn't do anything but scream at the top of her lungs, hoping somebody would hear her and stop this. 'I'm begging you, please! Let me go!' she screamed.

'Scream as much as you like...' Randy answered with sadistic glee, unmoved by her panic. 'I would enjoy it even more if you'd scream.' He lined himself up against her entrance, ready to brutally physically and mentally scar her for life. He would make sure she would endure unimaginable pain, pain she would never forget for her entire life. Lorena screamed once more when she felt something poking her entrance and clenched her eyes shut, preparing herself for the agonizing pain she would ever feel...

With a powerful swing, the door of the torture room hit the wall with a loud bang.

'What the hell is the meaning of this?!' Triple H's furious voice bellowed through the torture room. Lorena let out a gasp and opened her eyes when she heard the King of King's voice; she could feel her heart sinking to her feet. Triple H charged at Randy and violently pushed him out of the way, sending him flying against the wall. Stephanie immediately got up from her chair. 'Mind your own business, Hunter!' she shouted angrily. But her husband completely ignored her. He had arrived just in time, thank God. 'Are you alright?' he asked Lorena, his voice still trembling with anger. 'Did he hurt you?'

'N-no...'

Triple H untied Lorena; she immediately dropped to the floor, it felt like her legs lacked any bones. Trembling in fear, she cradled her painful wrists. 'Thank you... thank you...' she sobbed. She never thought she would be so happy to see the king. More tears rolled down her face, she had never been so terrified in her entire life.

'Go, now!' Triple H said.

Lorena nodded and tried to get up. Her legs felt wobbly, for a moment she thought she would fall back down. But she managed to get up and ran out of the torture room, hysterically crying.


	17. I Rule This Castle

**Chapter 17**

**I Rule This Castle**

There were rare times where Triple H was seriously angry, but this was one of those moments. Stephanie had disobeyed him, her jealousy and paranoia were stronger than his words and she was ready to mentally and possibly physically scar an innocent servant girl for life. Nobody would ever disobey the King of Kings, not even his own queen.

But right now, he decided to unleash a big part of his anger on the bastard who had the guts to call himself a 'man', Randy. He had agreed to take part in the gruesome punishment, he had obeyed Stephanie, so he had to pay as well. Randy was still lying on the ground, the impact from being thrown against a wall had temporarily incapacitated him. Triple H had absolutely no intention to show him any mercy. He let his foot do the speaking. He kicked Randy in the stomach as hard as he could. Randy let out a loud groan of pain; it felt like the King of Kings had hit him in the stomach with his sledge hammer. Triple H kicked Randy on every spot of his body, he wanted him to suffer, he had to pay for what he had done. Black spots danced in front of his eyes as he continued to kick Randy.

'You call yourself a man?!' the King of Kings shouted with a furious voice. 'Do you enjoy raping defenseless women?! You don't even have the right to call yourself a fucking man!' A few more kicks later, Triple H stopped. Catching his breath, he looked at the soldier. He had pain all over his body, the King of Kings had made sure to give him as much pain as possible. Bruises would cover his body for the following days as a result of this punishment. His fellow soldiers would see what had happened to him, increasing the humiliation.

Triple H turned around, facing Stephanie. He had lost some of his anger, but not all. Stephanie had watched her infuriated husband kick the living hell out of the ruthless soldier, but she didn't lift a finger to help him. No, if Randy was still a bit of a man, he would've gotten up and fought back at least. But he was lying on the ground as he let it all happen. Pathetic.

'And you...' Triple H hissed, pointing his finger at the queen. 'How dare you defying my rule! She had all the right to speak to me, there was no need for this!'

But Stephanie was unmoved by Triple H's rage. 'She deserved this.' she answered coldly.

'Deserved this?!' Triple H shouted. 'She didn't do anything to deserve this! You are so damn delusional, Stephanie. There is nothing going on between us, there had never been something going on between us. And it never will be! She is a servant girl, for God's sake!'

'I don't want her to be near you, Hunter.'

'I couldn't give less than a damn! I am the king, I make the rules around here!'

'Did you forget who I am?' Stephanie hissed. 'I'm the queen, the most powerful woman in all of Rexxan. If there is somebody who will rule this castle, it should be me.'

'Don't talk rubbish, Stephanie. You are my queen, you should know your place and obey my rules. And as your husband, I will tell you this... From now on, you will leave Lorena alone. Do you understand me? I will have the authority over her, I will decide whether she deserves punishment or not. You will never disobey a rule from me again... Am I making myself clear?' At least like this he could defend Lorena for a bit, he never wanted anything like this to happen again. Like this she would be safe from Stephanie.

The queen snorted contemptuously. Who did he think he was? Nobody would tell her what to do, not even her own husband. She was the mightiest woman in all of Rexxan, no, the mightiest woman in the world! No man, not even her own husband, would stop her from interfering the contact between him and the servant girl.

'You can rule everybody in this castle...' the queen said. 'But you can't rule me.'

Triple softly grunted in frustration. There was no way to talk his wife out of this, she was too stubborn and proud. 'You will leave her alone. Remember that.' He walked away from Stephanie and left the torture chamber.

* * *

><p>The door of the bedroom opened and Lorena got inside as fast as she could, as if the devil himself was chasing her.<p>

She could feel her heart pounding in her throat, she was so scared. When she was running through the hallways and up the stairs, she had the feeling someone was chasing her to bring her back to the torture room to continue the heinous punishment. Her lungs were hurting, her throat was sore. For a moment Lorena thought she was going to hyperventilate, but it didn't happen. She shut the door behind her and let herself fall on her bed. She curled up into a fetal position as she continued to cry hysterically. She had never, ever, been so scared in her entire life. When she felt the tip of Randy's manhood pressing against her, Lorena had wished she would instantly die right there on the spot, so she couldn't feel the pain she would experience. She would've rather died than feeling him inside her, the thought of it already made her stomach violently clench together. She felt like she was going to throw up, but she managed to contain her stomach's contents.

Lorena had never been so happy to see Hunter in her entire life.

Hunter.

It was because of him why Stephanie ordered Randy to rape her. It was all to scare her off, to make sure she would never speak to her husband again.

'Lorena?'

The door opened and Lorena saw Alexa standing in the doorway. Alexa's face expressed pure worry, she was just as scared like her friend was. Oh God... what did Randy do to her?!

'A-A-Alexa...!' Lorena whimpered. Alexa got on top of the bed and wrapped her arms around her friend, embracing her in a comforting hug. Lorena continued to cry as she felt Alexa's arms around her, she felt like she needed this.

'What did he do to you?' Alexa whispered with a slightly shaking voice, almost on the verge of tears. Just then, she noticed Lorena was missing her undergarments. Oh no... Could it be...?

'Did he... Did he rape you?'

'He wanted to...' Lorena sobbed. 'But Triple H freed me before it could happen...'

Alexa let out a sigh of relief. Thank God, he managed to save her just in time...

'What's going on here?'

Charlotte had heard Lorena crying on the hallway, so she decided to take a look. Unbeknown to Lorena and Alexa, something had changed inside Charlotte after Sasha's death. Her only friend in this castle was gone, brutally murdered by that jealous bitch Stephanie. Stabbed like a butcher would stab a pig... Charlotte didn't know what they did to Sasha's body, did they bury her or burn her to ashes? She had been acting despicable towards Alexa and Lorena, thus making the chances to befriend the two young women even less than minimal. So this is how it felt like to be alone...

Alexa looked up, glaring at the young woman. 'Randy tried to rape her.' she snarled. 'Go away, you're only going to make things worse!'

Those words were harsh, but Charlotte couldn't blame her. She stared at Lorena; she was a complete mess. Eyes clenched shut, tears flowing down her face and hysterically crying like a baby. Charlotte shook her head.

'You poor, unfortunate thing.' she thought. 'When you arrived here, I thought you were nothing more but a pathetic street rat. An excuse of a human being. Only good for an occasional beating by Stephanie... That's what you were to me and Sasha. But this... Almost getting raped by Randy... Randy, that sick bastard... That's way too cruel. That even goes too far for me.'

As Lorena continued cry, she knew one thing for sure... she would never dare to talk to Hunter again.


	18. Trust Me

**Chapter 18**

**Trust Me**

The next morning, Triple H woke up with one single thought: 'How is she doing now?'

He had seen Lorena's face when he saved her from Randy yesterday, he had never seen a face that expressed so much pure fear, not even on the faces of the enemy soldiers on the battlefield before he killed them. He could've easily guessed what would have happened to her if he hadn't arrived in the dungeons in time... God, he didn't want to think about it. Stephanie went too far on this punishment, Lorena didn't even deserve this. He hadn't seen the servant girl for the rest of the day, when he asked Alexa about her whereabouts she told him she had locked herself up in her bedroom, too scared to come out. This horrifying experience had shaken her up very badly, she didn't show herself for the rest of the day.

At the same time, Triple H felt guilty.

He had told her she was free to speak to him, thinking his wife's rule was just another fit of jealousy. She thought she was safe with him, she trusted him when he told her this... only to nearly get raped a few moments later. That's what made Triple H feel guilty. He had ensured her she would be safe... would she ever believe his words again? Was she willing to speak to him? Triple H doubted it, he was convinced she was still scared because of what happened yesterday. He hoped Randy would burn in hell for what he had tried to do.

Stephanie didn't say a word to him when he joined her at the dinner table for breakfast. Perhaps his words had finally reached her, but Triple H knew that chance was very minimal; his wife was even more stubborn than a female mule. Although he could feel the tension during breakfast, no mentions were made about the incident, not by him nor her.

On his way to his study room, Triple H looked out of a window and had a view on the huge garden behind the castle. Queen Stephanie not only had a (rather sinister) taste for punishment, but also for flowers. This garden was one of her most prized possessions, other than her crown and throne. She demanded to have the most beautiful flowers planted in her own private garden, roses were her personal favorites. When she was not in the throne room or in the dungeons on a sunny day, she would often be found strolling through the garden. If an outsider would watch her like that, he would think that woman had not an ounce of evil inside her mind. If only he knew about the true face of the beautiful queen, peacefully having a stroll through her garden...

Just then, Triple H noticed a young woman with a petite posture and long platinum blonde hair near the large rosebushes. It was Lorena!

The King of Kings had to know if she was alright. He walked down the stairs and headed towards the kitchen. Once he arrived in the kitchen, where the chefs were already busy preparing the lunch for the afternoon greeted him with humility, he left through a back door, heading towards Stephanie's garden. Lorena didn't even notice the king approaching her. She was holding a small basket with some withered flowers in it, this morning Stephanie ordered her to remove them from her precious garden. The servant girl barely had any sleep last night. All night, while lying in bed, she stared at the door and didn't dare to fall asleep. She didn't feel safe, not for one moment; the servant girl expected Randy to enter the room at any moment to continue what had been interrupted that afternoon. Lorena could only fall asleep when the first weak sunbeams shined through the window. With dark circles under her eyes, she searched for more withered flowers.

'Lorena?'

Letting out a soft gasp, Lorena looked up, nearly dropping the basket. Triple H had expected this; she was still scared.

'H-Hunter!' the servant girl exclaimed with a hushed tone in her face. 'Do you want me to get punished again? What if the queen sees us?'

'Stephanie has nothing to say about us.' the king replied.

Lorena stared at the rosebush with a pensive look in her eyes. 'That's what you also said yesterday...'

This is what Triple H already feared in the morning; she didn't believe him. And yet he couldn't blame her. He made her believe she was safe with him, and that bit of trust had been damaged all thanks to Stephanie and Randy.

'Please understand, Hunter...' Lorena said. 'I want to thank you for saving me back there, I'm forever grateful for that. But it may be better for the both of us if we don't speak at all. Like that, we both stay out of trouble. Maybe it's for the best...' It saddened Lorena to say this, but she had no choice. Triple H had promised her she had nothing to fear, but a while later she experienced the most horrifying moment of her entire life. She never wanted to go through anything like that again, and to prevent that she had to do something hard; avoiding all contact with Triple H. She was very sorry, but it was the only way.

Just when she wanted to walk away, Triple H grabbed her arm, but the grip wasn't that firm. 'Listen...' the king spoke calmly. 'I understand you are still scared because of what happened yesterday. It's unforgivable for what Randy tried to do, and I gave him what he deserved. I would've never forgiven myself if I didn't arrive in the dungeons in time, Lorena. I thought my words were clear to Stephanie, but she must have ignored me. Her jealousy and paranoia got the best of her. But I told her that she has nothing to say about you anymore, Lorena. I told her that...'

'What if I trust you on your words again?' Lorena interrupted him. 'What if I talk to you again and Stephanie punishes me for it once more? I don't know if I can believe you, I'm sorry, but I really don't know...'

Triple H softly sighed. It had been confirmed, then; Lorena didn't trust him. He never thought it would have come to this... a servant girl losing her trust in him. And surprisingly, he actually cared about it. He had never about any servant girl, not a single one of them, they were only in the castle to do their work, but Lorena... He felt like he had lied to her, let her down.

But the least thing he could do for her was to learn her how to defend herself against that bastard Randy.

'I know it must be hard for you to trust me again after what happened, Lorena...' Triple H spoke. 'But there is one thing you should know. I don't mean to scare you more with this, but it's very important. Randy is possibly not going to give up. He is one ruthless son of a bitch, so there will be a big chance he might come back for your body. In case I won't be in time to save you once more, I want to give you something to defend yourself. Stay here, I'll be right back.'

Triple H walked away from Lorena and entered the castle, closing the back door behind him. Staring at the ground, Lorena didn't know what to think. Should she trust him again? She would've loved to, she enjoyed having the conversations with him. They had build up a friendship together, she had never thought she would've gotten along with the king of Rexxan. But the last time she believed him, Randy almost raped her on Stephanie's command. Triple H had saved her, yes, she was forever grateful for that, but she couldn't risk this ever again. She had heard Triple H's words when he warned her about Randy; there might be a chance where he can't save her in time. Would Stephanie send Randy once more if she dared to talk to Triple H again? That chance was big. And the only way to avoid is was to avoid all contact with the king.

She just didn't know...

After a little while of waiting, Triple H returned to the garden.

'Here.'

Triple H put a small object in her hands. Lorena blinked her eyes in surprise; it was a dagger. The handle was made out of gold with a small version of the king's symbol engraved in it, the golden cross. The blade was made of stainless steel.

'Don't let anybody see this.' Triple H said. 'Hide it somewhere on a safe place. Use it to defend yourself against Randy. Trust me on this one, Lorena. You're going to need it.'

Lorena nodded. 'Thank you.'

'Go, you'd better hide it now.'

The servant girl hid the dagger in the basket, underneath the withered flowers. She ran to the back door and entered the castle, heading towards her bedroom to hide the weapon.

Triple H let out a soft sigh.

Even if she didn't trust him now, she had something to defend herself with.


	19. The Strength Of A Woman

**Chapter 19**

**The Strength Of A Woman**

Stephanie must have known Lorena was too afraid to fall asleep last night, which was possibly why she tasked the servant girl with a lot of hard work during the day; scrubbing the floor of the throne room, clean the hallways, cleaning the blood from the training weapons of the soldiers and more, just to completely tire her out. The servant girl noticed the queen ordered her to do these chores with a devious smile on her face, as if she was enjoying this; apparently that horrifying moment in the dungeons wasn't enough for her. Lorena felt like she could feel she could fall asleep at any moment, she was that tired. But at the same time, she dreaded the time where the night would fall.

Lorena knew this was going to be another night without any sleep, she was sure she was going to stare at the door, forcing herself not fall asleep in case Randy would come into the room and she had to flee. Last night she had felt many urges to let her guard down, close her eyes and fall asleep, but when the traumatizing memory immediately displayed itself again in front of her closed eyes, she opened her eyes again and forced herself to stare at the door again. This was even worse than the nights on the streets; at least she could find a safe place to sleep without forcing herself to stay awake, but here, in this bedroom, she felt like a sitting duck. From this moment on, she would appreciate every chance she had to sleep. Alexa was with her in the bedroom, yes, Lorena was supposed to feel safer with that fact, but she didn't. This didn't lessen her fear. Alexa was no match for Randy, she saw that yesterday; one elbow to her forehead and she was incapacitated. Not only did Lorena fear for her own safety, but also for Alexa's. What would Randy do to her? Would he knock her down again or even worse?

However, at least she had something to defend herself (and Alexa) with if necessary; the dagger Triple H gave her. She had hidden it underneath her pillow.

Eventually, after a few hour, the sky colored dark blue and the stars and moon appeared. With a rather uncomfortable feeling in her stomach, Lorena went to her bedroom after a long day of heavy chores. Staring at herself in the mirror of the dressing table, she brushed her hair. She wished her parents were still alive, they wouldn't hesitate to protect their only daughter. Lorena remembered a moment from her childhood that she would never forget. When she was a little girl, she was being bullied by a son of another farmer. When she told her mother about this, she went to the boy's father and told him what his son did to her daughter. After that, the bullying immediately stopped. If her mother was still alive by this day, she would stand up to Randy as well. But this was something quite different than a childhood bully...

Alexa hadn't shown up in the bedroom yet, Lorena assumed she was having a bath. Brushing her hair relaxed her a little bit, it made her feel a little less tensed. The door opened, carefully enough so Lorena wouldn't notice a thing...

'Good to see you again. Did you miss me?'

Immediately upon hearing that familiar voice, Lorena let out a loud gasp of horror. She could feel all her blood draining away from her face and her heart felt like it would jump right of her chest. She wanted to run, but her legs felt completely numb.

Oh God... no!

Randy was standing right behind her with a smirk on his face, resting his hands on Lorena's shoulders. He had a large dark blue bruise on his cheek, most likely the result of the beating Triple H gave him. The touch the servant girl abhorred so much... So it was true what Triple H said. He would come back for her body...

No... never!

Lorena could feel a bit of sensation in her legs, it wasn't much, but it was enough for her to run away. She immediately got up and attempted to run away, but unfortunately, she was too slow. Randy roughly grabbed her arm and shoved her against the wall. Holding her shoulders, he made sure the servant girl had no possibility to escape. Lorena's eyes widened with fear when she saw Randy's face. Underneath his handsome appearance, he was hiding his true nature; the nature of a monster.

'You're not going to run away anymore, do you understand?' Randy hissed. Like Lorena, he had blue eyes. And right now, they were brewing with lust. 'It's just the two of us now...'

'Go away, please...' Lorena whimpered.

Randy darkly chuckled and shook his head. He grinned from ear to ear. 'No, I'm not leaving, Lorena. I came here for a reason, you know... and you are that reason.'

'W-What do you want from me?'

'Isn't it obvious? The thing that had been denied from me in the dungeon...' Randy leaned forward, Lorena could feel the heat of his breath against her neck; it nearly made her gag. 'Your body.' Randy whispered in her ear. It made Lorena's skin crawl.

'You see, Lorena... when I saw you in the dungeon, I immediately noticed that pretty body of yours. That's when I thought: 'Just the right girl for me.' Ever since then, I've been thinking about you. I want your body. I want to enjoy every damn moment of it. You see, a soldier can be quite lonely sometimes. And some company from a woman is always... pleasurable.'

These words made Lorena's stomach clench together, for a moment she thought she was going to throw up right in front of the soldier.

'Now, let's get to the bed, shall we?'

Lorena thought she couldn't breathe, she was that scared. Randy looked at her face, the sight turned him on even more. The servant girl's pale face expressed pure fear, her eyes were widened with horror and it looked like she was on the verge of crying. He chuckled once more, pleased with the sight.

He enjoyed seeing her fear; that's what made his lust grow. Lorena realized that when her frightened eyes met his once more. He was willing to use violence if she refused to lie down on the bed for him. She was nothing more but a lust object for him, he didn't care about her refusal, he only cared about her body. What would he do to her after he was finished? Women were just an object for intercourse for this excuse of a man.

Object.

This word triggered something in Lorena's mind.

Randy thought all women were only good for one thing and one thing only... that son of a bitch. That filthy son of a bitch!

Lorena could feel the anger well up inside her. Looking at the man's face made her feel disgusted. The fear faded away and was replaced with the disgust and anger. This was the man she was afraid of? A man who saw women as nothing more than meaningless lust objects? A man with a mindset like that had no right to call himself a man, just like her father said once. And it was true, Randy had no right to call himself a man; he enjoyed raping defenseless women and become even more aroused when he saw the fear on their faces. He was no man, he was a monster!

And now he wanted to use her for his perverted desires.

Never!

Lorena would never do this, she would rather die than giving her body to Randy. He had no right to do this to her, she would never allow him. This was just like surviving on the streets... you had to stand up for yourself and fight!

Lorena glared at Randy and jerked her right shoulder away from his hand. Clenching her fist, she struck him right in the face as hard as she could, right on his bruise. It seemed like this was effective; Randy let out a roar of pain and cradled his painful cheek. This was the perfect opportunity to grab the dagger. As if she was fired off by a canon, Lorena charged towards her bed, tossed away her pillow and grabbed the weapon.

Randy turned around to grab Lorena, but he froze when he saw the servant girl pointing the dagger at him. She was pointing the tip of the blade right at his throat.

'You listen to me now, you bastard...' Lorena hissed angrily. 'I will never, ever, give my body to you, even if you force me to it. I am not a toy! I would rather die than give myself to a filthy, perverted, excuse of a man like you! Women are not objects! If you want a woman so badly, then go to the brothels in Wrestar to indulge your sick fantasies! But you will never do that to me, you hear me? You will never have me! You may have raped many women before me, but I will never be your next victim! I will fight, no matter how much violence you will use! If you ever dare to do this to me again, or to any other servant girl, I will cut your throat like the pig you are with this dagger! Do you understand me?!'

Randy didn't say a word, he was absolutely astonished by what Lorena said. For a moment, nothing happened in the bedroom... And then, without saying a word, Randy turned around and left, closing the door behind him.

So it was like that... He enjoyed preying on defenseless women, but as soon as one was armed, he would run off. That fucking coward.

Lorena could feel the adrenaline racing through her veins, her legs were shaking. She did it... she actually did it! Letting out a trembling sigh, she sat down on the bed, dropping the blade.

The door opened and for a moment, Lorena thought it was Randy who had returned. When she was about to get up, ready for a fight, a different person ran into the bedroom. It was Alexa, thank God.

'Lorena! Are you alright?' she asked with a worried look on her face. 'I saw Randy exiting the bedroom and... and I thought...'

'It's alright, Alexa.' Lorena reassured her. She let out a sigh. 'Yes... it's alright now...'


	20. For The First Time In Forever

**Chapter 20**

**For The First Time In Forever**

Like the many other dinners Triple H and Stephanie had together throughout their rather uncomfortable marriage, they spend their last meal of the day in silence. The cooks did their best on the dinner, it was good, but it was not enough to let them talk to each other. Besides, what was there to talk about? Most of the times when they were having a talk during dinner, it would often end in a heated discussion. If Triple H would only say one thing on which the queen could disagree on, it could immediately trigger her violent temper. She would shout, and in some occasions, throw her plate to the ground, shattering the plate into many pieces. The miserable dinner would then end when the seething Stephanie stormed out of the dining room. Triple H decided to avoid a conversation with his ill-tempered wife as much as possible during dinner time, but he would only talk to her if it was necessary.

Triple H had expected going through the dinner in silence again, but surprisingly, it was Stephanie who decided to speak when she was halfway through her meal.

'Has that little bitch been around you today?' the queen asked after swallowing down a piece of her cooked lamb.

'What?'

'Don't act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Hunter. That servant girl, Lorena. Has she been talking to you today?' Once more, Stephanie was caught in another fit of jealousy. Perhaps it was her still lingering paranoia that triggered this conversation.

Triple H let out an annoyed sigh. 'For God's sake Stephanie, do we have to go through this again? Have you listened to a single word I said back then? There is nothing going on between us, not a single bit. Besides, Lorena is not your concern anymore, remember? I have the authority over her now, not you.'

Stephanie could feel her blood starting to boil. Her husband still had the delusion that he could put her on her place, expecting her to be his obeying queen... well, he couldn't be any more wrong. She wouldn't be afraid to punish Lorena again if she had to, she didn't care if she would get scolded by her husband. She didn't want that servant girl near Triple H, not now, not ever.

Just when Stephanie wanted to yell at Triple H for his answer, the door of the dining room opened and Randy entered. Both Stephanie and Triple H looked up.

'What do you want, Randy?' the queen snarled. 'How dare you interrupting us at dinner time!'

'My apologies, queen Stephanie.' Randy replied. 'But I'm here to report something.'

'And that is?'

'Since when is a servant girl allowed to carry a weapon with her?'

Servant girl... Weapon... Dear God, Randy must've meant Lorena! So he did come back for her body after all, that filthy bastard; Triple H guessed he hadn't learned anything from his beating. Then this meant that she had used the dagger against him to defend herself... she did well. She did very well. For a little moment, Triple H felt something that was similar to... pride. Yes, that was it, pride. Little did Randy (and Stephanie) know that Triple H was proud of Lorena for standing up to Randy. She had fought back, something she wasn't able to do back in the dungeon. She must've casted all her fear aside and defend herself, something only somebody who was brave would do. Yes, Lorena did well.

But Stephanie wasn't going to be that happy when she'd find out who the servant girl with the weapon was.

'What do you mean, Randy? Be more specific.' Stephanie said, cocking her eyebrow.

'Right. You see, a few moments ago, Lorena threatened me with a dagger.'

'What?!' Stephanie got up from her chair, her eyes immediately burning with anger. 'That little bitch! She must have stolen that dagger somewhere... She will be punished for this, right now!'

'Stephanie.' Triple H interrupted her. There it was again, her thirst for someone else's pain. He had to stop her from punishing Lorena for something she didn't deserve to be punished for. 'You won't do this. I will handle this matter.'

'Hunter, she...'

'No, not another word. I will be the one who will give her the proper punishment and that's final!'

Triple H got up from his chair and walked towards the door. However, before he would open the door, he turned around to look at Randy. The king glared at him.

'You never learn, do you...?' he hissed angrily. Then he left the dining room.

* * *

><p>Of course Triple H wasn't going to punish Lorena for what she did. No, on the contrary! Lorena didn't deserve anything but punishment for this. He walked up the stairs, heading towards Alexa's room; he understood she was sharing it with Lorena. He hoped she wasn't asleep just yet, he wanted to talk to her. To make sure he was alone, Triple H looked behind him a couple of times, but luckily, nobody was following him. Stephanie believed he was going to punish her now, so right now they were safe to talk. She would be suspicious enough to send someone after her, but luckily this time, she believed him.<br>Finally he arrived at the door of Alexa's bedroom. The King of Kings knocked on the door, three times.

'Lorena?' he asked. 'Are you in there?'

For a moment it was silent. Was she asleep already?

'What is it, Hunter?' he suddenly heard behind the door. It was Lorena, she was still awake, thank goodness.

'Can I talk to you for a moment? Don't worry, it's safe, you will not get into trouble.'

Again, it was silent. Was she doubting to come out of the bedroom? Perhaps she still didn't trust him enough to talk to him, since the last time where she thought it was safe it lead her to nearly getting raped by Randy. But when Triple H listened very closely, he heard faint footsteps heading towards the door. The door opened with a soft creak, Triple H backed up a little bit. It looked like Lorena had already prepared herself to go to sleep; she was wearing her nightgown.

'Is something wrong?' Lorena asked, stepping out of the bedroom and shutting the door behind her. Did he know about it? Did Randy tell them what happened? After she had forced the soldier out of the bedroom, she stayed awake anyway to make sure he wouldn't come back. When she heard the knocking on the door, she was already reaching for the dagger she had hidden back underneath her pillow, ready for another confrontation. But when she heard Triple H's voice, she was immediately reassured. However, she still didn't fully trust this; was it really safe to talk? After a short moment of hesitation, she decided to give it a try. A careful try.

'Is it true what Randy said?' Triple H asked. So Randy did tell him... or did he tell it to Stephanie? That was more likely. 'Did you threaten him? Did you fight back?'

Lorena nodded. 'He came back again. He told me he wanted more of me, he saw me as an object for his lust. But before he could do anything, I... I snapped and grabbed the dagger you gave me. I told him to never dare to do this again, or else I would harm him. And... that's what happened.'

Triple H didn't say anything. So it was true what Randy said... Thank God he couldn't do anything to her before she managed to get him out of the bedroom.

And much to Lorena's surprise... she saw the corners of Triple's H mouth curl into a broad smile. She had never seen him smile before and my goodness, he looked like such a different person when he smiled! He looked friendlier, more... warmer.

'You did a good job, Lorena.' Triple H said. 'It makes me happy to hear it from you.'

Lorena could feel a warm feeling well up underneath her heart. She made him happy... she made him smile! Hearing those words made her happy as well, never, ever, in her entire life, would she expect to hear these words from the mightiest man of Rexxan. It made her feel like she was on top of the world, like nothing could bring her down now. Not only did she stand up against the man who had tried to use her body for his own desires, but also received words of praise from Triple H. She hadn't felt like this for ages... and just like Triple H, the corners of her mouth turned into a sincere smile.

'I did it...' she softly spoke with the joy of a little girl. Triple H could swear he saw a little twinkle in her eye. 'I told him to go away and he did!'

'Yes, you did.' Triple H had never seen the servant girl this happy.

'And as soon as I told him I would do something to him, he got out like he saw a ghost!'

The King of Kings could imagine it already; Randy, a man who was six feet and a half tall, running away from a woman who was a little over five feet tall as soon as he saw her wielding a dagger and telling him to back off! Seeing that must have been amusing! Triple H laughed out loud, imagining how it would've looked like if he was there in the bedroom. The king's laughter seemed to be contagious; it didn't last long before Lorena laughed as well. And before they were even realizing it, the King of Kings and the servant girl were sharing a good laugh with each other.

When was the last time he had shared a good laugh with someone else? Triple H couldn't remember, it must've been months... During times of combat with other countries, there was no time for laughs and jokes. God, it seemed like it had been forever. And now, for the first time in a long while, he was laughing with a servant girl.

It was true, Triple H looked like such a different person right now. It looked he had never been that stern, cold person he was before Lorena was taking care of him, he looked like a friend she had known for years. Lorena had found the courage to trust him again.

Inside the bedroom, Alexa, who was already lying in bed, heard the two laughing outside. Hearing them put a smile on her face.

It was good to hear her friend being happy after such a long while.


	21. Loveless

**Chapter 21**

**Loveless**

A few days passed and surprisingly, things went well for Lorena for a change.

She did her work without complaining, once again trying to avoid punishment from Stephanie as much as possible. Just because it had been calm lately, it didn't mean Stephanie's vile temper had been disappeared into the background. Lorena still thought it was the wisest idea to not trigger her violent temper by talking back to her when she was given a chore. Keeping her mouth shut was the best thing to do in this castle. Alexa helped her with most of her chores, they would have pleasant chit-chats like they had known each other for years, almost forgetting about the strict regime in the castle. Both the servant girls noticed that Charlotte had been awfully quiet lately, almost never showing herself, as if she was ashamed of how she had treated them in the past... When Sasha was still alive, she was a bully, just like her. But after what had happened to Sasha, she had been turned into a shy person who preferred to stay into the background. Despite what she did to her in the past, Lorena was willing to forgive her. Because after all, being all alone was the worst punishment someone could get. But Lorena wasn't that sure if Alexa could forgive her; she had been working in the castle longer than her, thus she must have endured more bullying at the hands of Charlotte and Sasha.

Triple H must have been more busy than usual lately; Lorena didn't see him much during the following days. He was spending more time in his study room with Seth and some soldiers, possibly to discuss the trades between Rexxan and the other countries. Being the king of a country was possibly the most important role a man could ever get, so Triple H had to be there whenever there was something about his kingdom to be discussed. He would only appear at dinner time and after a long and busy day, he would go to his bedroom to sleep.

So far, things had been calm in the castle... but it would only last for a few days.

One night, after another day full with chores, Lorena was hungry and longed for a nice meal before going to bed. Heading towards the kitchen, she wondered what the cooks had prepared for the servant girls this time. Chicken with potatoes? Veal with vegetables? Or just a simple, yet tasty soup? Ever since she had nearly been starved to death by Stephanie, Lorena was grateful of every meal she got on a day. But just when she walked past the door of the dining room, a loud, angry female voice shouting inside the room snapped her out of her thoughts.

It was the queen's voice! For a moment, Lorena could feel her heartbeat double; was Stephanie shouting at her? Just then, Lorena heard another voice coming from the dining room, but it was that of a man and it sounded just as angry as Stephanie's voice. That voice had to be Triple H's! Lorena couldn't exactly understand what they were fighting about, the voices sounded muffled behind the heavy oaken door. But whatever they were having an argument about, it sounded pretty heated. Once again, Lorena's curiosity got the best of her. She had to know what was going on here. If she would get caught eavesdropping the royal couple, punishment would be inevitable; Lorena promised herself she wouldn't listen for too long. Pressing her ear against the door, she listened to the angry voices in the dining room. Even now, the servant girl couldn't hear what they were exactly saying, but those loud, infuriated voices made her skin crawl. Then, suddenly, Stephanie started yelling as hard as she could. And this time, Lorena could hear what she was saying, loud and clear.

'It's all your fault!'

Lorena had heard Stephanie yell before when she was angry, but this time, her voice really terrified her. It was ear-deafening loud and hoarse, like the voice of a demon. The servant girl's skin crawled. She could hear Triple H yell back at her, then there was the sound of a chair being moved, followed by heavy footsteps. Lorena immediately knew what she had to do; get away from the door. She sprinted away from the door before it could be opened, hiding behind a corner. The door was swung open and slammed against the wall. A seething Triple H exited the dining room and slammed the door behind him. Lorena had never seen him that angry before, which also terrified her. Triple H walked away from the dining room, heading towards the stairs.

Was he going to his bedroom or study room? Both were likely, he needed to find a place where he could cool off. Suddenly, Lorena felt the need to help Triple H, to help him calming down. He had helped her to defend herself against Randy, so perhaps like this, she could do something back for him. She was willing to take the risk. However, Lorena had to make sure she wasn't being followed. She kept a safe distance from Triple H while she followed him, trying to make as little sound as possible. Yes, the king was heading towards his bedroom. So far, he had no idea the servant girl was following him. Still seething with anger, he opened the door of the bedroom, entered and slammed the door behind him.

Lorena was now standing in front of the door, waiting for the right moment to knock. If she would knock on the door right away, Triple H would know someone was following him. Also, she also wanted to give him a bit of time to cool off. Lorena looked around her; nobody was here, she was safe. After a short time of waiting, she knocked on the door.

'Who the hell is that?!' the king shouted.

Lorena let out an inaudible gasp; damn it, he was still mad. But she remained calm; perhaps he thought it was Stephanie on the other side of the door.

'Hunter... it's me, Lorena.' the servant girl spoke.

'Oh, Lorena...' The king's voice sounded a lot calmer now. 'It's only you.'

'What's the matter?' Lorena asked. 'Please let me in, I can help you...'

It was quiet for a moment in the bedroom. Maybe Triple H was considering to let her in...

'Very well.' Triple H said. 'Come in.'

Thank God, he allowed her to help him. Lorena opened the door and shut it behind her when she entered the bedroom. Triple H was sitting on the edge of his bed, his face still revealing some anger. Lorena hoped she could take that anger away.

'Hunter... are you alright? What happened?' the servant girl carefully asked.

The King of Kings let out a sigh and stared at the ground. He wished it was that easy to tell her what he and his wife were having a fight about in the dining room, but he couldn't. No, it was too personal, he couldn't do it. He couldn't tell her.

'Nothing happened.' he answered. 'It's nothing serious. Nothing you should be concerned about.'

'Are you sure about that?'

'Yes, I am.'

Perhaps Lorena should believe him. It was something between him and the queen, maybe he could solve this by himself. A servant girl shouldn't be minding a royal couple's business. And maybe it was something nothing serious...

But Lorena wanted to calm him down at least.

She sat down next to Triple H and gave him a friendly smile. 'If you tell there is nothing to worry about, then I believe you.' The king smiled back, but Lorena immediately noticed the smile was not sincere. It was forced.

'Thank you for believing me, Lorena.'

Even if Triple H's smile was forced, he had been calmed down a bit at least. He appreciated Lorena's good intention, just her presence alone was enough to calm down. He didn't know... There was something about the servant girl that was... soothing. A few nights ago, they had rekindled their strange, yet pleasant friendship. He never thought he would ever share a laugh with a servant girl, let alone be relieved that she was able to trust him again.

'You know, Hunter...'

'What is it?'

'I... I have never seen you and Stephanie being together being... happy, you know? I never saw you sharing a kiss or anything... Why is that?'

It was true what Lorena said. During the entire time she had been staying in the castle, she had never seen the royal couple exchanging a sign of endearment to each other, they didn't even smile at each other. They didn't even do that when she saw them arriving in Wrestar on the day that changed her life. They were almost always separated, as if they didn't want to see each other. They treated each other like distant relatives, not like husband and wife. It was as if... they didn't share any love.

Triple H let out a sigh. She was right, she was absolutely right. There were rare times where Stephanie would kiss him and there were even more rarer times where he sought pleasure with her in bed. When was the last time they did that? He couldn't even remember that... He decided to tell the truth to Lorena; he trusted her enough to tell her this.

'Before I became king, my father used to rule Rexxan. He was a good ruler, believe me, but... in a matter of time, his reign was tested. We were in the middle of war, we were attacked in all directions and we lost many soldiers. Only Seth, me and a few other remained. My father became desperate, Rexxan was on the brink of being overthrown. Believing he had failed his duty as a king, he took his own life. As his son, I received the crown and became king. Then, the McMahons, a royal family from the country of Dublyu, offered to form an alliance with Rexxan. King Vince send many powerful soldiers to Rexxan, who helped us defeat the enemy. We fought like savages, we lost men, but we won nonetheless. Together with Vince, we won victory after victory on the battlefields. After a long and violent time, Rexxan had finally won and claimed back his honor. Shortly after the victory, Vince offered me to marry his daughter. Princess Stephanie... The marriage was meant to strengthen the bond between Rexxan and Dublyu. I barely knew Stephanie, we had only seen each other a few times. But I couldn't turn down the offer; that would possibly lead to conflict between the two countries. And thus, Stephanie and I were married. From that day on, her never ending jealousy and paranoia were born. After a few months, her father suddenly passed away. There was nobody else who could rule Dublyu; Stephanie was now queen of Rexxan and his only son had died as the result from an infected injury incurred on the battlefield. Only a child from the king could become a ruler, according to Dublyunian law. With no king and no children to follow into their father's footsteps, Dublyu crumbled. A once powerful country had turned into a foul nest for bandits and murderers. Hundreds of people left Dublyu to find refuge in the neighboring countries. To this day, the country of Dublyu is a complete wasteland with all kinds of scum. Ashamed of her homeland's downfall, Stephanie developed an insatiable appetite for power. She couldn't be any more satisfied after Rexxan would win a war from another country, knowing that each victory would make the country stronger. Over the years she had not only become drunk with power, but also had developed a love for giving punishment and pain. All of this made her the person she is today. Showing affection is not a part of her, she had always been like that. As years passed, I adapted myself to this...It has become normal for me.'

Lorena had listened to Triple H's story without interrupting him once. My God... Marrying somebody not out of love, but because of politics... Ever since she was a child, Lorena believed people should only marry out of love. Without affection, there wouldn't be a happy marriage. That's why her parents had a stable marriage, because they loved each other. This was... so sad...

Lorena wanted to say many things about this, but she couldn't. There were just too many words. All she could do was stare at Triple H with disbelief expressed on her face.

A marriage without love was the saddest thing she could think of.


	22. Warmth

**Chapter 22**

**Warmth**

The next day, the true story behind Triple H's and Stephanie's marriage was still stuck in Lorena's head.

She still couldn't get over the idea of marrying because of political reasons, not out of love. Something like that was unthinkable for her. The servant girl remembered Triple H told her he had only met Stephanie for a couple of times. Dear goodness, he didn't even have the opportunity to know how she really was like. But perhaps Stephanie was already attracted to him, since he said that she became jealous and paranoid almost immediately after they married. Or maybe she just saw him as a possession, something that was only hers... How could somebody think like that? Triple H was a human being, with feelings and hopes... The servant girl had promised herself from a young age she would marry a man only if she loved him.

But what made Lorena happy was the fact that the king trusted her enough to tell her all of this. He trusted her... knowing that made her smile. She had been nothing else but kind towards him from the moment he had nearly died of the poisoning, she guessed that must have been the main reason why he trusted her. She highly doubted Stephanie would treat him with kindness, maybe Lorena was the only person in the entire castle who acted nice towards the king. Lorena had noticed how his behavior towards her had changed over the time; he had changed so much, he could be so open and warm if he wanted to. But years of fighting on battlefields, responsibility as a king and an ice cold wife had shut him down.

It felt good to know she was able to change somebody, with only using kindness. A golden heart could melt even the coldest people.

Stephanie had ordered her once again to scrub the floor of the throne room. Apparently this room was the queen's favorite room, perhaps because it showed so much power. Who wouldn't be impressed by all the gold inside this huge room? Stephanie knew this, which is why she wanted the floor of the throne room spotless clean. Even without looking up, Lorena knew the queen was watching every single move she made. Stephanie didn't care what her husband said to her in the dungeon; as long as she was doing a chore for her, she would still control her. If she dared to speak back to her, she was not afraid to punish her. Lorena's arm were hurting from the scrubbing, but she forced herself to go on. She endured this almost every day, but she didn't stop or complain; if she would do one of these things, she would feel Stephanie's wrath. Without saying a word, Lorena did her work under the queen's watchful eye.

After two hours of scrubbing, Lorena picked up the bucket of water and brush and left the throne room. Her arms were sore, but at least the chore was done. She exited the castle and went outside to the courtyard. Like every single day, the soldiers were out to train, preparing themselves for the next battle on the battlefield. Not even the bloodiest slashes or the darkest bruises would stop them from training. These young man had dedicated themselves to their king and homeland, they were willing to sacrifice their lives to protect them. Lorena walked to a corner and emptied the bucket. The water splashed on the ground, some drop hit the wall of the castle. Lorena turned around and wanted to go get back into the castle again to do her next chore, when something quite spectacular caught her eye...

The soldiers had ceased their training session to watch Triple H training with Seth. A training session involving the king was always impressive to watch, he was the perfect example for these men. With all the experience he had gained from years of perfecting his skills, Triple H dodged and attacked the captain of the army, who was barely standing a chance against him. Yet Seth refused to give up; he was determined to beat Triple H in this training session.

Wanting to get a better view of this, Lorena got a bit closer to the group of soldiers. From a safe distance, she watched Triple H showing the soldiers how to be the perfect fighter on the battle field.

For some reason, the servant girl couldn't keep her eyes off from the training king. She didn't know whether it was the impressive sight... or Triple H's perfect body. She had never seen anything like this before, not even the farmers back on the countryside looked like this, despite years of hard labor. It was completely muscled, not one bit of fat. A body like this could only be the result of years of training and fighting on the battlefield. The king was in his forties, yet there was not one imperfection about his well-trained body. It was funny that Lorena only noticed now...

When she thought about it, Lorena had never met somebody like Triple H before. She didn't know what it was, but... there was something intriguing about him. From the first moment she saw him arriving in Wrestar, the king was shrouded in mystery. She didn't know whether she should've felt amazed or frightened when she saw him in sitting in the carriage, wearing the shoulder plates decorated with long spikes and his mask that had been rumored to be the skull of a defeated king. Triple H had something Lorena couldn't put a finger on. Was it his personality? Or was it something else? She didn't know...

Just then, Lorena noticed how attractive Triple H was.

Yes, that was the right word to say.

Attractive.

There was something about the King of Kings that attracted Lorena like a moth to a beacon. And she knew why. He had treated her like no other man had ever treated her. He was warm to her, after the time she had been curing him from his poisoning. She had earned his trust, something a servant girl of a king had never accomplished. He had been friendly to her, he saved her from Randy and helped her to protect herself against the cruel soldier. He had been defending her against Stephanie, he had allowed her to calm him down when he was seething with anger after what happened in the dining room last night. He was furious, yet he allowed her to come near him. As if he... cared about her. And he did care about the servant girl, or else he wouldn't have done all of this for her. Triple H was much older than her, twenty-one years, but this only made him more attractive.

Just then, Lorena felt a certain kind of warmth in her chest. And she knew exactly what she was feeling.

Love.

That's right.

She felt nothing but love for Triple H, the King of Kings.

It felt so surreal, so strange... but Lorena couldn't help it. Right here, right now, she had fallen in love with the king. He was special, he was different than the other men... Lorena loved everything about him; his body, his personality, everything. Even his age didn't matter to her. Who would've ever thought of this... a servant girl, who used farmer's daughter and was forced to survive on the streets for three long years, falling for the mightiest man of Rexxan. Lorena had feeling for other men before, but she knew that what she was feeling right now, was pure love. While she could feel her feelings growing stronger and stronger by the second, the servant girl continued to stare at Triple H...

Suddenly, a hand patting on her shoulder caused her to snap her out of her love-fueled trance.

Rapidly blinking her eyes in surprise and letting out a loud gasp, Lorena thought queen Stephanie had caught her staring. But when she turned around, her fear faded away. It was Charlotte.

'Were you just staring at the king?' Charlotte asked.

'I... I...' Lorena was looking for words to say, but she couldn't find any. Besides, there was no point in denying she did it; her cheeks were colored bright red, like the roses in Stephanie's private garden.

'Listen...' Charlotte said. 'Whatever you are feeling for the king, you'd better hide it. If Stephanie would find out right now you were staring at him, she'd punish you. But if she finds out what you are feeling for Triple H, she will kill you. You know that, right? Don't worry, I will not rat you out. I'm not like that any longer...' It was true. Over the past days, Charlotte had made a change of heart. She felt remorse for what she had done. She knew she couldn't go back in time to change what had already happened, but by acting friendlier and more humble, maybe like that she could win the trust and friendship from Lorena and Alexa. Besides, she didn't want Lorena to end up like Sasha, she wouldn't wish a gruesome fate like that to her worst enemy. With Sasha dead, Charlotte was all alone in the castle... befriending her fellow servant girls would be very pleasant now.

'You're right...' Lorena answered. Charlotte was right, When she offered to take care of Triple H when he was poisoned, Stephanie threatened to kill her if he would pass away anyway. When Sasha foolishly confessed her true intentions to her, Stephanie murdered her in cold blood. If she would ever find out about her feelings for Triple H... dear God, she didn't want to think about it.

'Let's go now.' Charlotte said. 'We still got a lot to do.'

Lorena followed Charlotte back into the castle, ready for her next chore. But no matter how hard it would be to hide this secret from Stephanie... her love for Triple H wouldn't die.

Not now, not ever.


	23. Secrets Revealed

**Chapter 23**

**Secrets Revealed**

'More! I want more wine, damn it!'

Sitting alone at the dinner table, Stephanie had decided to spend the rest of the night drinking wine. There was nothing better than the alcoholic red refreshment flowing down her throat, it was the finest wine a royal woman could ever drink. Her husband had left the dinner table right after dinner, but she didn't feel lonely at all. All she needed was her chalice and a jug filled with wine; she couldn't imagine a better way to spend the night. During dinner she had one chalice of wine only, but soon it became more and more. Stephanie didn't drink to make her less nervous because of her role of a queen or to forget a sad memory; no, she drank wine because she was spoiled and loved the taste.

Lorena and Alexa were the unfortunate ones to serve her wine. Dear God, Lorena had seen desperate homeless men drinking less than the queen. It was like her thirst for wine never ended, she kept on screaming for the alcoholic drink. It nearly scared the servant girl, she had never seen somebody drinking that much. For a moment she thought the queen would literally drown in the wine. Stephanie became more intoxicated by the moment, her speech became slurred like the speech of a drunk person.

'You know, girls...' Stephanie said. 'My... My husband, the king... He's worthless. Fucking worthless!' Then she burst into a hysterical laughing fit, tears of laughter rolling down her face. 'He's pathetic!' she exclaimed out loud, before continuing her laughing fit.

Lorena was disgusted by this display. She was telling lies, lies that only a drunk person would tell. Triple H wasn't worthless, he wasn't pathetic. He was the most wonderful man she had ever met, she loved him so much... Even at last night, she couldn't keep her mind off from the king. Such a handsome man, such a wonderful personality... Before she went to sleep, she hoped she would dream of him, which unfortunately didn't happen. Just now, Stephanie had shown another trait of her hideous personality. She may have been beautiful on the outside, but on the inside, she was truly a wretched human being. She enjoyed to drink, and once she was drunk, she would spew the most horrendous lies about her husband, all while her hysterical laughter sounded familiar to the howling of a wolf.

The queen of Rexxan was the most rotten person Lorena had ever seen.

'You two!' Stephanie suddenly exclaimed. 'Leave me alone! I'm tired... I need sleep...' Then the queen put her arms on the table and rested her head on top of them. She closed her eyes and within a few seconds, she was sound asleep. Lorena let out a soft sigh and shook her head. What a disgusting display.

'Should we take her to her bedroom?' Alexa asked.

'Maybe not.' Lorena asked. 'If we wake her up, she might yell at us for it.'

'Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to sleep. It's late.'

'You're right, I'm going too. Let's go.'

* * *

><p>But tonight, Lorena had a hard time falling asleep, no matter how hard she tried.<p>

For how long now did she try to sleep? One hour, two hours maybe? Alexa was sleeping already, Lorena didn't move for an inch because she didn't want to wake her up. Maybe a little walk in the castle would help? Lorena decided to give it a shot. She waited until she was absolutely sure Alexa was sound asleep, then she snuck out of the bed as carefully as possible. Alexa was slightly moving, but it didn't look like Lorena had woke her up. The servant girl left the bedroom, quiet as a mouse.

Luckily the hallway wasn't that dark, the torches attached to the walls were still lit and illuminated a gentle light across the hallway. It calmed Lorena, it seemed to help. She wasn't wearing her sandals, so she didn't make any sound when she was walking. Looking around her, the hallway had something dreamy at night. Just a little longer, then she would go back to her bed to try to sleep again. Slowly walking through the hallway, Lorena felt the sleepiness kicking in; she had no hurry, she had all the time in the world. Yes, this was the best solution for somebody who couldn't fall asleep at night...

Was Triple H sleeping? That was most likely... But when Lorena walked past the door of the king's bedroom, she noticed the door was ajar. A dim light could be seen shining from the bedroom. Lorena frowned in confusion. Strange... Was he still awake? What was he doing in there? Once again, Lorena's curiosity got the best of her. She had to control it one of these days, it was getting out of hand... As careful as possible, Lorena opened the door a little bit more so she could get a better view, hoping the door wouldn't creak, which luckily didn't happen. Trying to not make a single sound, Lorena peeked inside the bedroom...

She had never expected to see this.

She could suppress a horrified gasp just in time as her eyes widened with shock.  
>Yes, Triple H was still awake. It looked like he couldn't sleep either, he was staring through the bedroom window, not noticing Lorena for one moment. He was wearing a short, velvet, black pants, which he would wear when he was going to sleep. His entire back, from the bottom to the top, was covered in scars. My God... so many scars... Each scar was different, in length and depth. Whoever had done this to the king, he wanted him to suffer... and to mark him for life. It looked like the scars were inflicted by a sharp object, like a sword or dagger. Triple H had been wearing a cape all the time, ever since Lorena had arrived at the castle. She had never seen him without his scarlet red cape, until now. It was most likely he was wearing it to cover up those horrendous scars...<p>

Just then, Triple H saw Lorena's horrified reflection in the window. He turned around, facing the servant girl.

'Lorena?' he asked. 'What's the matter? I thought you were asleep...'

Lorena let out a soft gasp. Damn it, she was caught... again. But the king didn't sound angry or anything, no, he sounded surprised. Of course, he hadn't expected the servant girl staring at him like this. Stephanie hadn't come to their bedroom, he guessed she was still in the dining room drinking wine. It may have sounded a bit selfish, but he was glad he finally got a bit of rest. Oh no...Lorena must have seen the scars. The scars that would always remind him of that one night...

The night where he failed to protect the ones he loved the most.

'I... I couldn't sleep and went for a little walk...' Lorena answered. 'My God... how did you get those scars, Hunter?'

Triple H didn't reply the question and stared at the ground. Lorena immediately saw he had a hard time telling the true story behind the scars. His eyes had something sad... something she had never seen before. This was the very first time she had seen the king sad, it made her a little bit sad as well.

Should he tell her how he got the scars? Everyone in the castle knew the story behind them, including the soldiers and other servant girls. Lorena was the only one who didn't know. It was hard to tell her about it, it was personal, very personal. Also, he didn't want to upset her. But she had the right to know it... She had always been there for him, she had always been kind to him and he had even confessed the truth behind his strained marriage to her. Lorena could be trusted, she would understand him. Besides, it would've been very pleasant to talk about it with somebody like her...

Fine then.

It was going to be hard, but she had the right to know.

'I hope I won't upset you with this.' Triple H mumbled.

Lorena shook her head. 'I can take it.' Oh dear... was the story going to be that sad?

'Very well. Sit down, please.' Triple H gestured to the bed. Lorena sat down on the edge of the bed, the King of Kings sat down next to her. He took a deep breath and breathed out, staring at the ground. This was going to be very hard... It took a little while before he looked up and gathered enough courage to tell the tragic story behind the scars.

'My marriage with Stephanie is a difficult one, it already was from the very beginning. But it didn't last long before I found some joy in this marriage... A few months after our wedding night, our first daughter was born. Aurora... God, she was so beautiful. From the very first moment I held her in my arms, I loved her already. She was my everything. I had spend more time with her in the baby room than in the study room. I would've given up my entire kingdom for my little girl... Two years later, our second daughter was born, Murphy. Then two years later again, Vaughn was born. My three little angels... I loved them so much. They were my entire world.'

Triple H let out a shaky sigh. Now this was going to be the hardest part...

'Rexxan was in war with Teann. I had to leave the girls behind in the castle, they didn't have to see the violence. They were too young to see all of that. I thought they were safe... But I was wrong. So wrong... One night, when I went inside my tent to go to sleep, I was ambushed by two Teannian soldiers. They knocked me out before I could even react. When I woke up, they had taken me to a remote part in the forest. A group of Teannian soldiers, grinning from ear to ear... They tied me up, so that escape would be impossible. And then... then they showed me my three daughters!'

Lorena let out an audible gasp as her eyes went wide with horror. She covered her mouth with her hands, but she didn't say anything. Oh God... Oh no... What did they do to them?!

Triple saw the expression on the servant girl's face. It was exactly what he had expected, but he didn't stop telling the story.

'Those bastards had snuck into the castle... killed the guards... and kidnapped the girls. They were looking for a weak spot to make me crumble and, well... they had found it. I struggled to get free, yelled at them to let them go, that they were innocent... But all they did was just laugh. Aurora was the first one who had to suffer... When I told them to let her go, one of the soldiers struck me in the back with his sword. And that was the signal for the other soldier to... to... kill Aurora.'

Dear God... Lorena was looking words to say, but she couldn't find any. This was too horrible, too sad... No words could describe this.

'I tried to get free... but I couldn't!' At this point, Triple H's voice slightly started to break. 'Then they grabbed Murphy... and she suffered the same fate as Aurora. All this time, the soldier kept on striking me, slashing every part of my back as I continued to scream for my daughters. Never in my entire life, I had felt that powerless. I begged them to spare Vaughn's life, she was still so young! But not even she was spared from the soldier's sword...'

Closing his eyes, Triple H could hear his daughters' screams, begging their father to help them while tears ran down their faces. A memory he could never forget, no matter how old he would become...

'I was broken. I had watched my three little girls die... and I couldn't have done anything to save them. The mental pain was far more worse than the physical pain. My daughters were gone, I had nothing else to live for anymore. So I didn't resist when the soldiers raised their swords to end my life... But then, just on that moment, Seth and a few other soldiers had found me and attacked the soldiers, killing them. Afterwards they freed me, but the damage was already done... My daughters were dead. And I, their own father, couldn't save them... I have never forgiven myself for this.'

It was completely silent in the bedroom.

'Oh, Hunter...' Lorena whispered, her voice soft with shock. 'That's... awful...'

Triple H nodded. He could feel tears well up in his eyes, oh God, this was too much... And before he could hold it back, the tears rolled down his cheeks. Hunching his upper body forward, he hung his head and covered his eyes with his hands, sobbing nearly inaudibly. He was crying... he hadn't done that for years. He didn't even cry when his daughters died, but why? Was it too horrible to cry for? Perhaps it was that... But now, all the sorrow he had stored was coming out. Triple H couldn't stop the tears, they flowed down his cheeks, dripped down his chin and stained the ground.

Lorena immediately felt the urge to console the king. She gently rubbed his mutilated back; the scars felt much more smoother than his skin. This had to be the saddest story she had ever heard in her entire life... Not one father should lose his children like this, not one. And it had to happen to Triple H, and in such a violent way... This was too horrible, there were no words for this.

'Stephanie is right...' Triple H sobbed. 'It is my fault. I couldn't save them, they died because of me...'

So that's why Stephanie shouted that accusation in the dining room two days ago... 'It's all your fault!', now it all made sense...

'No... you're wrong.' Lorena shook her head. 'It's not your fault, Hunter. Please, believe me when I say it's not your fault. I know you, you're an amazing man, I know you would've tried everything to save them...'

Triple H continued to cry for a while longer. He remembered the moment where they came back to the camp and had to break the news to Stephanie. The queen of Rexxan practically attacked Triple H when she heard her daughters were dead; she screamed and yelled like a madwoman, hitting Triple H on the chest with her fists, she didn't want to believe it. Ever since then, she had blamed Triple H for their daughters' deaths, fueling the king's guilt more and more. From that moment on, he swore to kill every single Teannian soldier, to avenge his daughters. Crushing those men underneath his sledgehammer, make them suffer... He would win this war for his daughters, to honor their memory. This traumatizing event turned him into the cold man he once was... until he met Lorena.

After a little while, Triple H had ran out of tears to cry.

'How are you feeling now, Hunter?' Lorena gently asked.

'A little bit better...' the king mumbled. He still felt miserable, but the pain was a little less now. He stared at Lorena, there were still some remaining tears staining his cheeks. The servant girl put her hands on his cheeks and gently brushed his tears away with her thumbs. For some reason, the touch calmed Triple H more. It was a caring touch, it was so soft... Lorena could see he was calming down. The king let out a soft sigh, the tears stopped coming. It seemed like he was relaxing, resting his head in the servant girl's hands. It made her feel relieved; he was calming down.

Such a sweet young woman... No matter how miserable he was, she was always there for him, willing to make him feel better. Triple H had never met a woman like her before; no woman had ever treated him like this, not even Stephanie... Even after he had been cured from the poisoning, she didn't stop caring about him.

'Can I ask you something, Lorena?' Triple H asked.

'What is it?'

'Do you... happen to be an angel?'

Lorena blinked her eyes in surprise. 'What? W-what do you mean?'

'You see... when I was a little boy, my mother once told me a story before I went to sleep. She told me that God would send an angel to a person who was beyond miserable. I felt like I had died from the inside when we returned to Rexxan... and then you appeared in front of the carriage. Are you an angel, Lorena?'

An angel... he honestly thought she was an angel! Lorena couldn't say anything, she felt an explosion of warmth swell underneath her heart. A soft blush emerged from her cheeks. He thought she was an angel in the form of a human being... Her hands were slightly trembling, but still touching his cheeks. Triple H had very short blonde hair, almost bald even. She wondered if his hair had been longer in the past. His facial hair had the same color as his hair. And just now, she saw how warm his brown eyes were... He had suffered so much pain in his past, Lorena wished she could take it all away. Make him forgot about all the sorrow... and be happy.

She loved him so much...

And before she could hold it back, Lorena planted her lips on the king's.

Triple H let out a muffled exclamation, he hadn't expected this kiss for one moment. Lorena closed her eyes as she saw hundreds of lights dancing in front of her eyes. His lips were so soft, they were so damn addicting... she couldn't pull away, not now. She wanted to let Triple H now how much she loved him, how much he meant to her. Her king... her beloved king. No, he was more than a king to her; he was her friend... her love. He didn't do anything to move away from her, was he giving in? She hoped he loved her as much as she loved him.

Triple H softly breathed out through his nose as he almost gave into the kiss. It was so warm, so soft... Stephanie had never kissed him like this. He couldn't resist this.

But just as he wanted to give in, Lorena opened her eyes as she realized something.

He was married.

The king was a married man.

Kissing a married man was the worst thing you could do.

As if she was caught by the queen herself, Lorena rapidly broke the kiss. Oh God, why did she only realize this now? She was so blinded by love, she didn't even think about it! She immediately felt guilty. She didn't even feel him giving into the kiss!

'Oh... Oh no... I-I-I'm so sorry!' the servant girl exclaimed.

'Lorena...' Triple H replied, blinking his eyes in surprise. What was the matter with her? At first she kissed him with the passion of a true lover and the next moment she looked like she had seen a ghost...

'Please, forgive me for this!' What was he thinking of her now? Did he think she was a whore? The kiss was so impulsive, she was such a fool to do that! If the queen would ever find out about this, she would have her killed for sure!

Lorena was so ashamed.

'I'm sorry! So sorry!' The embarrassed servant girl got up, ran towards the door and exited the bedroom, leaving a confused Triple H alone.


	24. Forbidden Love

**Chapter 24**

**Forbidden Love**

Her lips were slightly trembling, as if it had been the first time she had ever kissed a man.

Even when he woke up, Triple H could still feel Lorena's soft lips on his mouth. It hadn't left him over the entire night, it was as if the servant girl had casted a spell over him. The kiss was so warm, so soft, so... loving. No woman had ever kissed him like this, not even Stephanie. Yes, she had shown him this sign of endearment before on the day they were married, but it didn't feel the same way like Lorena did; it felt like it was 'forced', in some sort of way. When he thought about it, Stephanie had never been the kind of person who showed affection with kisses and hugs. No, she had expressed that through jealousy and forcing the servant girls to wear masks, so they wouldn't be able to 'seduce' him with their beauty. It looked like Stephanie hadn't been sober enough to be able to walk to the bedroom and join him in bed; perhaps she was still in the dining room, waking up with a hangover of a lifetime. Triple H knew his wife loved to drink wine. It was one of her favorite activities, next to tormenting the servant girls and everyone in the castle, including her own husband.

But Lorena...

Lorena was much different than Stephanie.

Triple H remembered the moment where he saw her when he and Stephanie arrived in Wrestar. A thin homeless woman with a skin so pale as if she had never been in contact with sunlight. Pathetic, at least that's what Triple H thought when he saw her for the first time. Another homeless who was destined to die in the gutter while rats where gnawing on her body. Just to give her useless life a little bit of purpose, he had offered her to work as a servant girl in his castle. Even then, she was still nothing special to him, she was there to work and that was it. She had to obey him and Stephanie, like every servant girl should. He didn't even show pity to her when she was nearly torn to pieces by the guard dogs after she tried to escape the castle and only gave her an apple during her punishment so she could work properly again. But after what happened on the courtyard that nearly cost his life, everything had changed forever... He could feel his head feel lighter and lighter as the poison flowed through his body, for a moment he thought he would reunited with his daughters at any moment. And then she appeared... willing to save his life, despite how coldly he had treated her. She had patience with him, she had spend most of the time near his bedside to give him the herbs and let him throw up in a bucket. She had even spoken her mind to him, which he really didn't care about back when he was sick, but now, he admired it. The servant girl wasn't afraid to tell him her opinion, which was a good trait for a person. After he had been recovered, they had developed a kind of... friendship. A king and his servant girl becoming friends, who had ever thought about that? Unfortunately, Stephanie's jealousy acted up again in full force... She had ordered Lorena to get raped by Randy, just for talking to her husband. Thank God Triple was there just in time before this cruel punishment could take place. Just thinking about what would've happened if he entered the dungeon in time... he didn't want to think about it. She didn't deserve that, it was way too cruel! After that horrifying experience, Lorena had started to doubt whether she should ever trust Triple H again; he never thought he would actually care about the trust of a servant girl. But after he had given her the dagger to defend herself against Randy and she successfully managed to do that, their friendship and trust had been restored. God, it was so good to see her being happy... When she laughed, it made her look more sweeter and... more beautiful. She was so kind to try to calm him down after he had that fight with Stephanie in the dining room. He had entrusted the true story behind his marriage with his wife to her... And when he told the tragic tale of his daughters... he realized how blessed he was with this servant girl.

Kind, gentle and understanding... Lorena Dureill truly possessed a golden heart.

Not for one moment, she had been cruel to him, unlike Stephanie. Just then, Triple H realized how beautiful the servant girl actually was... Long platinum blonde hair, pale skin, blue eyes and a slender body. If he had to imagine how an angel would look like, the angel would have the same traits as Lorena. Three years of surviving on the streets never damaged her beauty. Yes, she was very thin when she arrived in the castle, but over the following days (and after her punishment for trying to escape the castle), she had gained a little bit more weight. He had treated her so horribly back then... and yet she still found the forgiveness in her heart, along with the love.

Love...

That's why she kissed him last night, because she loved him. And when he thought about it... Triple H felt the same thing for her as well. So beautiful, such a wonderful personality... Everything was amazing about her. Just thinking about her face already made a warm feeling emerge inside Triple H's chest. He knew exactly what this was... Love. True love.

Yes, he admitted it.

He loved Lorena, the servant girl. The woman he had picked up from the street, had become his love interest. She was married to Stephanie, yet he had feelings for the one she loved to torment. Is this how true love felt like? Yes, it most likely felt like that. But if his wife would ever find out he had feelings for the servant girl... she would kill her, along with her own husband. Or perhaps they would suffer an even worse fate than death... Stephanie should never know about this, he had to protect Lorena from her. He had to keep this a secret if he didn't want her to get hurt.

Lorena...

Closing his eyes, Triple H recalled that magical moment of last night. The kiss made him realize what true love was. The soft, feminine lips on his lips that hadn't been kissed for months... God, he would give everything to feel that again. Kind Lorena, beautiful Lorena...

He lied down in bed for a little while, until hunger made him get out and go to the dining room.

The king shook his head in disbelief. This woman right here, sleeping with her head resting on the table, was his wife. Stephanie. The queen of Rexxan. There was nothing graceful about an intoxicated queen falling asleep at the dining table, like a drunk in an inn. She was supposed to be the most graceful woman in all of Rexxan, but this display was downright degrading. A trickle of saliva was dripping out of the corner of her mouth while she was sleeping, resulting in a very small pool on the table, soaking her cheek.

Suddenly, the queen blinked her eyes and let out a soft groan; she was finally waking up. Looking around her with a blank look in her eyes, she remembered what happened last night. She softly chuckled when she saw her husband; her eyes were bloodshot, a common trait of someone who had been up all night drinking.

'Ah, Hunter... You're up...' she mumbled.

Triple let out a soft sigh.

There was nothing beautiful about this.

* * *

><p>What was he thinking about her now?<p>

Did she ruin their friendship?

Lorena couldn't concentrate on picking withered flowers from queen Stephanie's private garden, it was too hard to do that right now. No, her mind was on last night, on the moment where she kissed Triple H. She felt guilty... God, she felt so guilty. The kiss was completely impulsive, she wasn't even thinking. The servant girl didn't even realize for a moment the king was in fact married. To the most evil woman she had met in her entire life, if you thought about it. If Stephanie would ever find out about this... thinking about it already made her skin crawl. Hopefully Triple H wouldn't tell her about what happened last night; although Lorena was sure he wouldn't rat her out, she still had that fear. Stephanie was in an awful shape when she ordered the servant girl to look for withered flowers in her garden. It looked like she was suffering from a major hangover, she was constantly rubbing her temples and judging from her speech, she was feeling like her head was about to explode. Lorena didn't ask anything about her current condition, fearing the hangover had only worsened the queen's explosive temper and trigger it if she had the guts to ask.

Lorena let out a soft sigh and shook her head. 'What does he think about me now...?' she whispered to herself. 'Does he think I'm a whore...?'

'Lorena...'

The servant girl immediately recognized that voice. She blinked her eyes in surprise and turned around, facing Triple H. For a moment she could feel the familiar warmth well up in her chest again, but as soon as she remembered what she had done last night, the pleasant feeling slightly dimmed. The king's face didn't have anything angry, thank goodness. However, his face did express slight concern.

'What was the matter with you last night?' Triple H asked. 'Was something...'

'I'm so sorry, Hunter!' Lorena replied, interrupting him. She wanted to apologize to him, hoping he would forgive her for her impulsiveness. 'I... I wasn't thinking, I was being such a fool! I should've realized you were married, I hope you can forgive me for what I've done. What I have done was horrible, I should have never done that... I'm so sorry.'

'There is nothing to apologize for, Lorena.'

No, there was not a single thing about last night she should be sorry about. Lorena had opened Triple H's eyes, she had shown him true kindness, true love. Without that kiss, he would've never realized how much she actually meant to him. He loved Lorena, she had become much more than just a servant girl to him.

'What? You... you are not mad, Hunter?'

'No, I'm not.' Triple H shook his head and gave his love interest a reassuring smile. 'You have done something to me, Lorena. You have opened my eyes, just by that kiss. I've finally seen the truth... You have shown me what true love is, how you can truly care about somebody. I know I have treated you badly in the past, and yet you showed me nothing but kindness. No woman has ever treated me like this. You are the first woman who has shown me compassion. I can trust you, I have entrusted all my secrets to you, even if they were hard for me to tell. And I am not afraid to tell you this... I love you, Lorena.'

He loved her.

Him.

Triple H.

The King of Kings, the mightiest man in Rexxan. The one she had heard so many stories about, told by the farmers and fellow homeless on the streets. In the stories he was always described as a victorious and powerful man, Lorena would never have thought, for as long as she lived, a man like him would ever have feelings for him. A former farmer's daughter and homeless, now a servant girl, became his love interest. Lorena couldn't believe it, she had to be dreaming, this was way too surreal! But then again, even if she was dreaming... she didn't want to be woken up. Triple H, the man she loved, had answered her feelings back.

A soft blush emerged from Lorena's cheeks as she smiled from ear to ear. She had never been so happy in her entire life. Triple H loved to see her like this, she was even more beautiful now... Luckily nobody had been following him when he was heading towards the garden, he had made sure of that; Stephanie had gone to her bedroom to lie down to recover from her hangover.

'Hunter...' Lorena whispered, her voice filled with admiration.

Triple H gently caressed Lorena's cheek, she closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh in bliss when she felt his touch. His hand was callused, it was the hand of a man who fought with a heavy weapon, and yet it was so gentle...

Suddenly, the servant girl opened her eyes.

'Stephanie may never know about this.' she said.

Triple H nodded. She was right, Stephanie should never, ever, find out about this. If she would find out, the consequences would be too horrifying for words. Sasha was foolish enough to reveal her true intentions, and she had to pay for that mistake with her life. He didn't want to think about what would happen to Lorena if this secret would ever come out. Perhaps her punishment would be even worse than death...

They had to keep their feelings as a secret, for both their sake.

One mistake and it would all be over.

'She won't find out about us, Lorena.' Triple H said. 'I promise you that.'


	25. Can You Keep A Secret?

**Chapter 25**

**Can You Keep A Secret?**

Triple H had answered her feelings back...  
>Even at night, Lorena still couldn't believe this. That morning in Stephanie's private garden was like a surreal dream, she could still feel the king's gentle touch on her cheek. She had never been touched like this by a man before, not in her entire life. Lorena never had a love interest in the past, perhaps it was because there were more important things to do than falling love; helping her parents on the farm, struggling for survival when they had hit rock bottom and trying her best to survive on the streets when she had lost everything. There had never been time for Lorena to fall in love. Her whole life had been centered around survival, ever since she was born. There were times where her parents didn't have enough money to feed their newborn baby, which would result in forcing them to listen to their baby daughter's loud cries for days. Lorena could imagine they were feeling completely helpless on those times, feeling guilty for putting a baby on the world who they were barely able to feed. Even in her new life in the castle, Lorena had to survive to avoid punishment from the queen.<p>

Triple H was the first man she ever felt true love for.

But this love was dangerous.

If Stephanie would find out what was going on between them, she might face an even worse punishment than death. That's why it was without a doubt important to keep this a secret. However, there was only one person in this entire castle Lorena could entrust her secret to; Alexa. She had been nice to her from the very beginning, she was the only one who hadn't done anything cruel to her on the first day she started her new life as a servant girl. She had stood up for her when Charlotte and Sasha bullied her. She was the only friend she had here, until she befriended Triple H. Alexa wouldn't betray her, she could trust her. That's why she was planning to entrust her secret to her.

Lorena needed to come up with a plan. Spending time with Triple H would be nearly impossible if Stephanie was around, both she and the king knew that. If they wanted to spend time together, they had to distract the queen in some way, so they would be safe... even if it lasted for a little while. Lorena didn't care if she could be with Triple H for a short time, she would savor every second while she was with him. Every touch, every kiss from the king would make her the happiest woman in the world.

But how was she going to this if she didn't have a plan?

Maybe Alexa could help her with it...

'Lorena? Are you coming?'

The servant girl was brushing her hair in front of the dressing table, preparing herself to serve dinner to the royal couple along with Alexa and Charlotte. Lorena planned to act as normal as possible, she would serve the food and she wouldn't do anything else besides that; as long as Stephanie was with Triple H, she wouldn't show how she really felt about the queen's husband, even if he was there. Alexa's voice made her look up. Her friend was waiting for her in the doorway.

'Oh, yes...' Lorena nodded. For a moment, she doubted whether she should tell Alexa about her feelings for the king. But Alexa wouldn't betray her, she was sure of that. She decided to confess it to her, to her only.

'Alexa?'

'Yes?'

'Can I... Can I tell you something?'

'Well, of course! What is it?'

'It's... it's kind of personal. Could you please close the door?'

Alexa frowned in curiosity. What was going on here? Was there something wrong with her? If somebody was going to tell you something and ask you to close the door for that, then it had to be something serious. But whatever it was... she would be there for her. Because after all, Lorena was her friend; and you don't let your friends down.

Looking behind her, Alexa checked if there was nobody else in hallway. Thankfully, nobody was there. She closed the door behind her and sat down on the edge of the bed. Lorena got up and sat down next to her.

'First you've got to promise me something, Alexa...' The servant girl's friend has never heard her speaking in such a serious voice before. Something had to be going on here. 'Can you keep this a secret? You are my best friend, I only entrust you with this, you can't tell this to anybody else.'

Alexa nodded. 'I promise that. What is it?'

'Well, you see...' Lorena took a deep breath and breathed out. No turning back now. Because if she would do that now, it would only make her friend worried. 'I guess you have noticed that me and the king have grown closer, right?'

'I suppose so, yes.'

'Over the past days... we have grown closer. A lot closer.'

'What do you mean by that?' Of course Alexa knew about Lorena and Triple H's friendship. Ever since she had been helping him with recovering from the poisoning that had nearly taken his life, they had become closer than any king and servant girl should be. She had never seen him being so close with a servant girl, he wasn't even that close with her, nor Charlotte, nor Sasha, when she was still alive. This could only trigger Stephanie's jealousy, and if that happened, her punishments would be even crueler. One night she heard Lorena and Triple H sharing a good laugh, sealing their friendship. Triple H had never laughed with a servant girl before...

'Over the time... dear God, Alexa, how can I explain this to you? I couldn't help it, but... one day, while he was training in the courtyard, I... I fell in love with him.'

'You what...?' Alexa's eyes slightly widened. Lorena? Falling in love with Triple H?

'I know, it sounds so strange, but... I love him, Alexa. He is the first man I ever felt true love for. I love everything about him, he has made me so happy. Last night, I couldn't fall asleep, so I went for a little stroll in the castle. Triple H was still awake, I visited him in his bedroom and after we talked for a while, I... I kissed him.'

'What?!' Alexa covered her mouth with her hands, muffling the exclamation. 'Lorena... Are you... Have you... have you lost your mind?! If Stephanie finds out what you've done, she'll kill you! Remember what happened to Sasha?!'

'Alexa, calm down please.' Lorena had expected a reaction like this. 'At first I thought I had ruined our friendship because of that impulsive kiss. But this morning, while I was looking for withered flowers in the queen's garden, Triple H approached and he... told me he had feeling for me as well.'

The 'fairy' was absolutely gobsmacked by this confession. She had no idea her friend was keeping such an astounding secret, she hadn't thought of that in a million years. My God... she had no idea what to say about this.

'Lorena... my goodness... I...' she stammered. 'I... I didn't know about that... You and Triple H... Oh my goodness...'

'Please don't tell this to Stephanie!' Lorena pleaded. 'You are the only person I can entrust with this secret!'

'No, don't worry, Lorena.' Alexa shook her head. 'I won't tell this to anyone, I swear. You can trust me.' As astounding and surprising as the secret was, Alexa would still have Lorena's back. She wouldn't let her down, she had entrusted this secret to her and her only, and trust was the most valuable thing between friends. No, she wouldn't tell this to anybody, especially not Charlotte. After all insulting and harmful things she had said and done to her, she could never trust her again. No, she wouldn't hear about this.

'Thank you.' Lorena gave Alexa a small smile. She knew she could trust her. 'But listen, I need your help with something. I need something to... distract Stephanie in some kind of way. I want to see Triple H more often, which is impossible when she's around. What can I do, Alexa? Do you have any ideas?'

The servant girl's friend let out a soft hum and started thinking. What could make Stephanie forget about her husband, whom she was so possessive about? For a couple of seconds, she thought about it... and then she came up with the perfect idea. An idea that would definitely work!

'Do you remember when Stephanie was drinking so much last night?'

'Yes, I do...' Stephanie couldn't stop drinking wine, she only wanted more and more, until she passed out drunk at the table.

Hold on...

Just now, Lorena understood what Alexa meant with that question. But of course! Why didn't she think about that earlier?

'You mean... we could make her pass out again?'

'That's right. The queen has always been like this. There are a couple of nights where she keeps on drinking, and at the end, she will always end up falling asleep at the table. What if we keep on offering her chalices of wine until she falls asleep? There is no way she can't say 'no' to that. Perhaps like this, you will be able to be together with Triple H. And maybe, if you're lucky, you could also spend the morning with him, until Stephanie wakes up. How does that sound to you?'

That had to be the best idea Lorena had ever heard. And she was right, perhaps she could still have time with him in the morning, since Stephanie went to her bedroom this morning to recover from her hangover. It was all a matter of good timing; if she was careful enough, nothing would go wrong. This was perfect! She couldn't wait to put the plan into motion.

'Thank you, Alexa.' Lorena smiled from ear to ear. 'Thank you so much.'


	26. Worthy Pain

**Chapter 26**

**Worthy Pain**

**Warning: this chapter contains sexual content. If you don't feel comfortable with this, skip it.**

For a moment, Lorena could feel the warm feeling in her chest well up again when she saw Triple H at the dining table. Along with Alexa and Charlotte, she brought the large plates with fresh food from the kitchen to the dining room; she immediately noticed the King of Kings sitting at the table. She wanted to smile from ear to ear, but then quickly remembered Stephanie was in the same room. The servant girl forced herself to stay calm and pretend she wasn't feeling anything.

Just like Lorena, Triple H decided to not show anything about his true feelings for the servant girl. It was the wisest thing to do; only if they were alone together, there would be time for showing affection. But not now.

Lorena, Alexa and Charlotte put the plates of food on the table; cooked meat, vegetables, fish and much more, there was plenty of food the royal couple could choose from. But most importantly, there was wine. Wine was going to be essential tonight. As soon as the jug of wine was put on the table, Stephanie reached over and grabbed it, pouring the red, alcoholic liquid in her chalice. She took a big gulp; apparently her appetite for wine was bigger than the appetite for all the food on the table. The royal couple spend, like most of their dinners together, in silence. Back in the kitchen, where the servant girls would have their own meals, Lorena felt sorry for Triple H. Would they always spend their dinners like this? There was no contact, no chemistry... Lorena couldn't stand it if she was forced to dine like this, night after night. If she was Triple H's wife, he would never have to go through dinner like this anymore; she would give him attention, to let him know he mattered to her.

'Alexa! Lorena!' the servant girls heard the queen shouting from the dining room.

Lorena and Alexa went back to the dining room, where Stephanie was holding the jug. Dear God, did she completely empty it already? Perhaps she had been drinking more than eating, judging by the fact that she still had most of her food on her plate. Lorena noticed that Triple H had left the dining room, his plate was already empty. Perhaps he had finished his plate quicker so he could get away from his repulsive wife... But Stephanie didn't seem to care about that.

'Bring me more wine!' the queen said with a slightly hoarse voice; it looked like the alcohol was starting to affect the queen. However, this was only a good sign...

'Of course, my queen...' Lorena answered. 'Would you mind to have another jug of wine after this one?'

Stephanie stared at her chalice for a moment, as if she was considering the offer.

'Hmmm... I don't see why I should refuse.'

It worked! Lorena grabbed the empty jug and together with Alexa she went back to the kitchen to fill the jug with wine. Opening the large vat with wine and filling the jug, both young women hoped the queen would pass out soon. They brought the jug back to the table; the crockery didn't even touch the oaken table, the queen grabbed it immediately from Lorena's hands and poured the wine in the chalice. For Alexa, this was quite surprising; there were a couple of times where Stephanie would drink so much, but it rarely happened twice in a row.

In a matter of time, Stephanie once more drank all of the jug's content. Lorena had never seen such a gluttonous woman before... Her speech had already became slurred when she ordered the two servant girls to fetch her more of the red alcoholic drink. They were getting closer, they could just feel that.

And they were right; after consuming the third jug of wine, Stephanie started nodding slowly.

'I believe I've had enough for tonight...' she mumbled, barely intelligible. 'I... need to close my eyes for a moment...' Stephanie leaned back and closed her eyes; within a few seconds, she fell into an alcohol-triggered sleep. Lorena and Alexa stared at her for a little while, making sure she was sound asleep.

'What do you think?' Lorena whispered. 'Is it safe enough?'

Alexa carefully shook the queen's shoulder, snapped her fingers and clapped her hands near her ear, but there was no reaction. Stephanie was asleep and it looked like she wouldn't wake up for the night.

The 'fairy' nodded. 'Yes. It's alright.' She smiled at her friend. 'Well? What are you waiting for? Go to him.'

'Thank you Alexa... thank you so much!' With her heart beating rapidly in excitement, Lorena exited the dining room.

All she wanted to do now was to find Triple H and be with him for the rest of the night.

* * *

><p>Euphoria was still clouding Lorena's mind as she ran up the stairs.<p>

Finally... thanks to Alexa, there was time to be with Triple H without being afraid Stephanie would catch them. No, she wouldn't be noticing anything for tonight. She cared more about the wine than her own husband... how selfish could a woman be? Even though she was almost bursting with happiness, Lorena looked behind her for a couple of times, wanting to be sure nobody was following her. For a little moment she felt a bit guilty for not telling Charlotte about what was going on, it felt like she had left her out. She had been friendly to her for a while, but she couldn't risk her secret reaching Stephanie. Lorena was sorry about that, but it was still too dangerous.

While running up the stairs, Lorena knew where she could find Triple H; in his bedroom. It was already late, he couldn't be in his study room now. She thought she couldn't breathe for a moment, she was so happy. When she finally reached the door of Triple H's bedroom, she had to catch a breath, she had been running that fast. She knocked on the door, hoping the king would be there.

'Who is there?' an all too familiar voice asked inside the bedroom.

He was there!

'Hunter! It's me!' Lorena cheerfully exclaimed. She opened the door and entered the bedroom. The sight only made her happier; Triple H was standing near the large bed, wearing his black pants. It looked like he was ready to go to sleep, but Lorena didn't want him to go to sleep just yet. No, this moment together would not be wasted.

She was smiling from ear to ear, it was the first thing Triple H noticed about the servant girl. He had never seen her smiling like this... Lorena closed the door behind her, a soft thud filled the bedroom. And before Triple H could react, Lorena ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling her cheek against his muscled chest. The servant girl closed her eyes as she relaxed against his chest, letting out a soft sigh of bliss. God, she was so beautiful like that... Triple H could feel his cheeks becoming warm. Just like his own cheeks, Lorena's cheeks colored into a soft shade of red.

'Lorena...' the king whispered in admiration.

The servant girl looked up. 'Don't worry.' she said, gently touching Triple H's cheek. 'There's nothing to be worried about... Stephanie is in the dining room, she's already asleep. It's just the two of us...' Triple H closed his eyes, giving into the soft touch of the servant girl's hand. He let out a soft sigh, as if he was completely relaxed. 'Very well...' he spoke. 'That's a huge relief...'

The warm feeling in Lorena's chest was stronger than ever now.

Standing on her tiptoes, Lorena put her hands on Triple H's neck and gently pulled him in for a gentle kiss. As soon as his lips came in contact with hers, the king let out a soft hum as thousands of little lights danced in front of his closed eyes. This kiss was so warm, so good... God, he wanted to let this go on forever, to never end. He wrapped his strong arms around the servant girl's waist, deepening the kiss even more. It felt like an eternity since he had been kissed like this... Soon they both needed air and broke the kiss. For a moment, the king and the servant girl were lost in each others' gaze. Those were the most beautiful blue eyes Triple H had ever seen... Stephanie's eyes were ice cold, but Lorena's eyes... they were warm and loving. He wanted more. The king's lips met Lorena's once more. This was happening... this was really happening... Lorena slightly opened her mouth to let a little sigh of bliss, this was so good. Triple H trailed his tongue over the servant girl's lower lip and dipped the wet muscle in her mouth. Lorena moaned as her blush colored in a darker shade of red; she had never been kissed like this before. His tongue brushed against hers, soon both tongues danced together in a passionate dance. Triple H noticed she had never kissed a man like this before, the movements of her tongue were so careful and gentle. So innocent... He was glad to be the first man to do this to her.

Lorena stroked Triple H's back, touching his scars; her touch could even lessen the worst kind of pain. Triple H guided her to the bed, Lorena immediately knew what he wanted to do to her. And she wanted it too, she wanted him to touch her and kiss her. Breaking the passionate kiss, Lorena lied down on the bed. As soon as her back touched the sheets, Triple H got on top of her and dived into another kiss, supporting himself on his lower arms. Wrapping her arms around the king's neck, Lorena deepened the kiss, their tongues once again dancing together. Soon Triple H pulled his tongue out and guided his lips to Lorena's neck, gently kissing it.

'Ah... Hunter...' Lorena whispered, running her hands over his back.

Her eyes were closed, her voice was slightly trembling, her cheeks were as red as a rose. So beautiful... Triple H placed more kisses on her neck, gentle enough so it wouldn't leave bruises on her skin. Her body scent was so feminine, it was unique. Triple H wanted to make her feel good, to never forget this night, no matter how old she would become. His hands trailed to her top and slowly pulled them up, exposing her breasts. Lorena opened her eyes and let out a soft gasp.

'Wait... what are you doing?' she asked. Triple H had never seen her like this before, it was a little bit embarrassing.

'Sssh... you don't have to be ashamed. You have a beautiful body, Lorena...' the king answered, his voice becoming raw with passion. And it was true; her breasts were shaped like they would be only touched by his hands, small hips and a slender body. A real beauty. The compliment made the embarrassment fade away. Triple H ran his hands over Lorena's breasts and gently massaged them, making the servant girl moan. It was like he had done this before he met her, it was perfect. Suddenly, Triple H buried his face between the two globes of flesh, licking and kissing the skin between them. Lorena's breath hitched and let out a soft moan, running her fingers over Triple H's head. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed every lick and kiss. His facial hair slightly scraped against her skin, but that didn't matter. The king let out a soft grunt of delight, it felt like he was dreaming. When was the last time he had a moment like this? He couldn't remember.

'Lorena... I want you so damn much.' he roughly growled for a moment, immediately continuing his work after saying that.

After a little while, Triple H removed his lips from Lorena's skin and traveled down, leaving a trail of kisses on her body as he did so. Lorena had opened her eyes, witnessing how the king took off her sandals, tossing them on the ground. His hand traveled back up again, pulling down her skirt, along with her undergarments. Lorena let out a barely audible gasp; there she was, completely naked, right in front of the King of Kings. Triple H spread her legs, immediately spotting the pink softness between the folds, which was already moist. Lorena could feel her heartbeat rising when the king leaned closer, his hot breath on the most intimate part of her body made her slightly bite her lower lip in nervousness.

What was he going to do...?

Just then, Triple H buried his mouth against her womanhood and ran his tongue over the sensitive flesh.

Lorena slammed her eyes shut and her breath hitched, followed by a loud moan. No man had ever done this to her, she was, until this moment, completely innocent when it came to the pleasures of the flesh. She had never thought about it, she never even touched herself, not once. Back when she lived on the countryside, there were many girls who became pregnant in their teenage years. Knowing how that could've happened, Lorena decided not to engage in the same activity those girls did.

But this... dear God, it was so overwhelming...

Triple H's tongue continued to do it's magic, causing Lorena to emit more cries and moans of pleasure. Triple H lapped at her bitter juices, this was so good... His tongue brushed against her most sensitive spot, making the servant girl arch her back and let out a strangled cry. The king looked up for a moment, the sight made him want to go on even more. Lorena was practically squirming at this point, panting and moaning, her eyes were closed, her cheeks even more red and a trickle of sweat running down her temple. He did this to her, he gave her so much pleasure... it made him so happy. Triple H concentrated on the small nub of nerves, licking and sucking on it. Lorena arched her back once more, moaned louder and ran her fingers over Triple H's head, over the thin layer of hair. With every lick, she could feel something intense growing inside her, but she didn't know what it was...

'Ah... H-Hunter...I-I'm... I'm feeling strange... It's like... I'm going to... Going to... Oh God... Going to...!'

And just like that, Lorena experienced her first ever orgasm. An explosion of pleasure crashed through her lower body, the servant girl emitted a barely audible cry from the intensity as she arched her back. Triple H looked up as Lorena was slowly sinking down back to Earth; her chest was heaving, more sweat had run down her temples and her legs were trembling uncontrollably. He allowed her bitter juices to run down his tongue, he couldn't get enough from it. He disconnected himself from her womanhood and quickly gave a soft kiss on the inside from her thigh.

'Hunter... what... was that?' Lorena panted, still catching her breath.

'You exploded with pleasure, my love.' Triple H answered. He kissed his lover on the cheek, earning a soft hum of delight and a little smile from her.

He couldn't wait any longer.

The king pulled down his pants, simply tossing it on the ground next to Lorena's clothes. Immediately upon seeing his fully erected manhood, Lorena could feel herself getting nervous. Triple H could see the slightly worried expression on her face.

'Is there something wrong?' he asked.

'It's... it's just that... I've never done this before.'

Wait... did she mean that...?

'You're a virgin?'

'Yes...'

'Don't be afraid. I will be careful, I promise.'

Lorena nodded. She believed him, but still, she was nervous for what was going to come. Was it going to hurt a lot? Triple H got back on top of her again, supporting himself on his lower arms. He positioned himself between her legs, the tip of his manhood pressing against her entrance. Lorena could feel her heartbeat rising as the nervousness only increased. This was it... there was no going back. Her virginity, the most precious natural gift a woman could ever possess, was going to be taken by the man she loved the most. She had carried her virginity with her for twenty-four years... and now she was going to lose it.

'Here I come, Lorena.' Triple H whispered in her ear.

The king started pressing his manhood against her entrance with more force. Lorena could feel a huge pressure against her, already building up a bit of pain. She clenched her fists in the sheets, preparing herself for the biggest pain she would feel in her entire life. The tip of Triple H's manhood penetrated her, it was already enough to make Lorena softly whimper. Slowly, bit by bit, Triple H pushed his length in deeper and deeper, causing a burning pain to develop inside the servant girl.

With one hard push, Triple H had completely buried his entire manhood inside her. Lorena let out a wail of pain when her hymen was completely ripped to pieces. It felt like someone put a hot iron rod inside her, it hurt so much!

She was on the verge of crying... Triple H knew he had to do something. 'Lorena... look at me...' Lorena looked him straight in the eyes, tears of pain had welled up in the corners of her eyes. Triple H gently stroked her hair and kissed her on the lips. It seemed to have a calming effect on her; Lorena let out a soft shaky sigh and closed her eyes. She was still in a lot of pain, but like this, it was a bit more bearable...

'Do you want me to stop?' Triple H asked. From the inside he wanted to pound inside her with all the love he had for her, but her pain mattered more than his own passion.

'No...' Lorena shook her head. 'I can take it.' Yes, she was willing to take the burning pain. If they would stop now, it would all feel so... loveless.

'Alright then. If that's what you want... then I will do it.' Triple H gave her another kiss on the lips. 'I will move now, Lorena.'

He slowly thrust his hip upwards, the burning pain returned once more. Lorena was able to suppress a whimper of pain and clenched her fists in the sheets. Dear God... how could a human being find pleasure in this? Triple H started thrusting in a slow, but steady pace. Lorena tried to relax more, knowing that if she wouldn't, it would only hurt more. God, she was so hot, wet and tight... Triple H wanted to move faster as he could feel the first sparks of pleasure, but he wanted his lover to get used to the feeling of being filled up and this pace.

But after a little while, Lorena felt something change...

The pain started to fade away, she was getting used to this. She relaxed around his member more and more, and soon, she felt a strange kind of pressure inside her... a good kind of pressure. It became heavier and heavier by the second... was this it? Was this the pleasure women would feel during lovemaking? God, it felt so good... she had never felt like this in her entire life! She wrapped her arms around Triple H's waist, urging him to go deeper and faster, already emitting the first moans of pleasure.

She wasn't in pain anymore, thank God. Urged by the servant girl's arms, Triple H started to move faster; just like her, he started to feel more and more pleasure. The last bit of pain faded away as pure pleasure took over Lorena. More moans, panting and cries escaped her mouth as the pleasure increased. A thin sheet appeared over the bodies of both lovers as their breathing become more labored.

'More... Hunter, oh God... Please, more!' Lorena cried out.

Triple H moved his hips faster and faster, increasing the pleasure for both of them only more. God, it was so good to be inside her... the woman he loved most.

'I love you...' the king whispered with a raw voice and dived in for another passionate kiss. Lorena opened her mouth, their tongues found each other again to brush against each other. Triple H was now pounding inside her as fast as he could, muffling Lorena's moans and cries with his mouth. The sound of skin slapping against skin completely filled the room. He couldn't control himself any longer. He was making sweet love to her, he wanted to make her feel good, show her how much he loved her. Triple H could feel himself getting closer, he could explode at any moment.

He couldn't hold it back anymore.

Ripping himself loose from Lorena's lips, Triple H let out a shaky groan as he fell over the edge, coming deep inside her. Lorena let out a gasp when she felt something warm and thick fill her insides, followed by a soft sigh of satisfaction. Triple H didn't pull out just yet; he planted his lips again on Lorena's, remaining like this for a moment. When he finally pulled out, he saw thin streams of blood had stained the insides of Lorena's thighs.

The remains of her virginity.

The pain was worth it... It was hellish, but it was all worth it. This had been the most beautiful thing Lorena had ever experienced. She was one with Triple H, there was so much passion, so much love... Absolutely beautiful. Her insides were still a little bit burning from what happened, but that didn't matter. It was so good, so damn good...

'Hunter...' she softly whispered.

She pulled Triple H in for an embrace, resting her body against his. Triple H let out a soft sigh of delight... this had to be the greatest night of his life.

'Stay with me...' Lorena whispered. 'Stay with me... forever and ever...'

'I will, Lorena. I promise you.' Triple H kissed her on her forehead before rolling off from her. The servant girl nuzzled her face against his muscled chest. She smiled from ear to ear.

'I'm so happy...' she said. 'Thank you so much...'

Triple H gently stroked her hair, wishing this peaceful moment would go on forever. This servant girl, this beautiful woman, had made him the happiest man alive...

After a while, they both fell asleep in each others arms.


	27. Birth Of An Affair

**Chapter 27**

**Birth Of An Affair**

The dim sunlight illuminated the country of Rexxan in the early morning, shining through the window of Triple H's bedroom. The faint sunbeam slightly warmed his face. Soon the King of Kings let out a soft groan, followed by a little sigh. He rubbed his right temple with his fingers and opened his eyes, only to close them the next moment. The sunlight wasn't that bright at all, it was still early in the morning. It must have been past midnight when he fell asleep, he had slept for only a few hours.

Which reminded him...

Looking to his left, he could feel a warmth develop in his abdomen.

Unlike him, Lorena was still peacefully asleep. Lying on her stomach, she was facing Triple H. And dear God, she was even beautiful when she was sleeping. She had dozed off last night with a small smile on her face after experiencing the most special moment of her life. Lorena was in pain at first, but later on, she had closed her eyes as nothing but pure pleasure clouded her mind. Triple H was convinced she had never experienced anything like this before in her life. Triple H was the first man to give her this pleasure... he couldn't feel any more honored. He didn't want to wake up Lorena just yet. He didn't dare to touch her, as if he was afraid his touch would crack her skin and break her body into a thousands of pieces. No, he wanted to stare at her and appreciate this moment; waking up next to a beauty like Lorena was not an daily occurrence. For the next minutes Triple H stared at the sleeping servant girl, enjoying this moment to the fullest with a dreamy smile on his face. So beautiful...

An hour or so passed before Lorena let out a soft sigh.

Was she waking up? Triple H quickly closed his eyes, pretending he was asleep. He didn't want to startle her, not every woman would feel comfortable waking up while someone else was staring at her. Not long after the sigh, he heard a soft, feminine chuckle. The king pretended to wake up; immediately, the warm feeling in his abdomen grew stronger. Lorena was staring right back at him, her blue eyes half-lidded since she was still a bit sleepy. The corners of her mouth curled into a smile as she brushed away a lock of hair that was hanging in front of her face.

'Good morning.' Triple H whispered. 'Did you have a good sleep?'

'Yes...'

Waking up next to Triple H was the most wonderful thing Lorena could ever wish for. She scooted closer to the king, put her hand on the back of his head and pulled him in for a gentle kiss. This was such a wonderful way to wake up... Letting out a soft hum, Triple H closed his eyes and gave in. Stephanie had never done this to him in the morning... Triple H wrapped his strong arm around Lorena's waist, deepening the kiss. After a little while, they both needed air and broke the kiss. A soft blush colored Lorena's cheeks red as she felt the warm feeling in her chest blazing out of control. That special moment last night must have unleashed something inside her, because she seductively ran her tongue over Triple H's lower lip. The king almost blinked his eyes in surprise, but this gesture... it made him desire this servant girl more than anything. He replied by brushing his tongue against hers, the next moment they were once more caught in a passionate kiss. Running her fingers over his back, Lorena wished this would never end.

A while later, their lips parted with a wet pop.

'Lie down on your back.' Triple H whispered with a slightly hoarse voice.

Lorena nodded and lied down, slightly biting her lip in excitement. What was he going to do to her? Would that special moment from last night repeat itself? She felt Triple H's fingertips touch her abdomen, slowly traveling down until they found the most sensitive part of her body. Lorena let out a gasp, followed by a loud moan as Triple H started rubbing the small bundle of nerves. Clenching her fists in the sheets, she closed her eyes, feeling the first jolts of pleasure traveling through her loins. Triple H's fingers explored every spot of her womanhood. Lorena slightly arched her back when one finger slipped inside her, wiggling around. Just then, she felt like she wanted to do something back for her lover. Moving her hand underneath the sheets, she found the king's fully erected manhood. Upon feeling her careful touch, Triple H let out a soft hiss in anticipation. This urged Lorena to touch him more, gently stroking his manhood as moans of pleasure escaped the king's mouth. It felt so strange, she had never done this before, it all felt so... new. And yet is was good. The two lovers continued to touch each other, both of them feeling they were getting closer by every second.

Triple H couldn't hold it back anymore.

He removed his fingers from Lorena's sensitive flesh and spread her legs a little bit more open; the servant girl knew exactly what was coming... and she wanted it too, so badly. The king got on top of her, positioning the tip of his manhood against her entrance. Slowly, bit by bit, he penetrated her, earning a soft cry from the servant girl. The burning pain from last night returned, although it wasn't that very painful this time. Triple H started to thrust his hips in a steady pace, and in a matter of time, the pain faded away and was replaced with nothing but pleasure. Lorena had closed her eyes as the pleasure flared through her entire lower body and wrapped her arms around Triple H's neck, urging him to go faster. The king moved his hips faster, giving the both of them only more pleasure. He could feel himself getting closer, but he wanted Lorena to experience it first. He reached down and quickly rubbed the small bundle of nerves. The fast thrusts, the sound of skin slapping against skin combined with that wonderful touch made Lorena fall over the edge; arching her back and opening her eyes, she let out a barely audible wail as her second orgasm crashed through her lower body. Feeling her warm, wet insides clenching around his length, Triple H couldn't hold it back anymore either. With a low, shaky groan, he came deep inside her. Both lovers needed a moment to sink back to Earth, they didn't say a word for a moment as they both enjoyed this relaxing aftermath. Triple H pulled out, earning a soft sigh of satisfaction from the servant girl.

'Ah... Hunter...'

Her cheeks were colored bright red and her chest was raising up and down. So beautiful... Triple H planted a gentle kiss on her lips; Lorena happily kissed back. The king lied down on his back, Lorena rested her head on his chest while her fingers caressed his abdomen. It was like the world around them had stopped existing, it was just the two of them...

But suddenly, Lorena loudly gasped and she quickly sat up.

'Oh no!' she exclaimed.

'What is it?'

'I... I have to go back to my room! What if Stephanie is coming right now?'

She was right... The sunlight had become slightly stronger, what if the queen was heading towards the bedroom right now to recover from her hangover? Lorena had to get out of here, for her own safety.

'Be careful when you go outside.' the king said. 'Be quick, don't let anybody catch you.'

Lorena nodded and got out of the bed. Just then, she noticed her thighs were stained with blood. The blood of her virginity. She had given her virginity to the King of Kings... it was so hard to believe that. Lorena picked up her clothes and quickly put them on.

'It's so surreal...' the servant girl softly said when she put on her sandals, sitting on the edge of the bed.

'What do you mean?' Triple H asked, moving closing to her.

'We are having an affair... It's... it's so strange...'

Triple H chuckled and touched Lorena's cheek, kissing her. That wonderful touch on her cheek and those addicting lips on hers... it made Lorena fall in love with him even more.

The King of Kings broke the kiss. 'There is nothing strange about true love.'

Yes, that was exactly what he felt for her.

Love.

Nothing more but true love.

This woman, this servant girl, had made him feel emotions he hadn't felt in years. She gave him warmth, comfort, trust, everything Stephanie didn't give him during these last ten years of marriage. He wished Lorena could stay with him for the rest of the day, but unfortunately, that was too dangerous. If Stephanie would find out what had happened in her bed last night and this morning, she wouldn't hesitate to kill Lorena in the most brutal way possible... or maybe her punishment would be even worse than that.

Triple H wanted to protect Lorena.

'Will I see you again tonight?' Triple H asked. He hoped so, from the bottom of his heart.

'I will try my best.' the servant girl answered with a smile. She got up and opened the door, looking around her. Thank God, Stephanie wasn't in the hallway. But just before exiting the bedroom, she turned around to look at Triple H one more time. The man she loved so much...

'Thank you so much, Hunter...'

'No, Lorena... thank you.' Triple H gave her a small smile. 'You are the best thing that has ever happened to me.'

With the familiar warm feeling in her chest and feeling like she was the happiest woman on Earth, the servant girl left the bedroom. Running through the hallway, she had the feeling she was floating. Everything that had happened these past hours completely overwhelmed her. The kisses, the touches, the pleasure, the love, the romance... She thought she was going to cry of happiness, it was so overwhelming. Triple H had answered her love for him back, he had the same feelings for her... It was like she was dreaming.

Turning around the corner, Lorena reached her bedroom. She quickly got in and slammed the door shut behind her, causing Alexa, who was still sleeping, to wake up. Immediately upon spotting Lorena, she was wide awake. 'Lo? How did it go? W-what's that on your thighs?' Resting the back of her head against the door, Lorena finally allowed the tears of happiness to flow down her cheeks.

'Alexa... it was... it was...' Lorena paused for a moment to gather herself. 'I've never been so happy in my entire life.'

* * *

><p>Before going to the kitchen to have their breakfast, Lorena quickly went to the bathroom to wash the blood off her thighs. She had to erase all evidence of what happened last night if she didn't want to be caught. While cleaning her thighs with the wet cloth, the realization of the fact that she and Triple H were having an affair still had to sink into her.<p>

It was still too surreal to believe it... When Lorena was brought to the castle on that one faithful day, she had never thought this would ever happen. She thought she would be forever destined to be treated like dirt by the royal couple, Sasha and Charlotte, struggle to avoid the cruel punishments from Stephanie and work in the castle until the day she would die. Finding true love hadn't jumped into her mind for a single moment; she was too busy trying to survive the harsh life in the castle. She was all wrong when she thought staying in the castle would be safer than living on the streets. Queen Stephanie was even more cruel and vicious than the criminals who found joy in harming the homeless. There was no place for love if you wanted to survive.

And now she was having an affair with Triple H.

The king.

The husband of the queen.

Now it was completely sinking in.

Lorena could still feel Triple H's touches all over her body. Those soft, gentle touches... But right now was not the time to think about them; she had to pretend nothing had happened, she had to act as normal and calm as possible. Right now that was the only way to keep the affair a secret to the queen.

Alexa didn't ask anything about what happened last night when they ate their breakfast in the kitchen; she too knew the risk. And she had absolutely no intention to tell Lorena's secret to Charlotte. No, she wouldn't rat out on her friend.

After breakfast, the three servant girls headed towards the throne room, where their queen would give them the chores for today. Walking towards the throne room, Lorena promised herself she would remain calm and to not show anything that could unravel the affair. Not only did she have to protect herself... but also Triple H.

It looked like even shutting the door could trigger Stephanie's anger.

'Don't slam that door, for God's sake!' Queen Stephanie yelled, sitting in her throne and rubbing her temples. It looked like the side effect all the wine she drank last night was affecting her, and not too gently. The queen thought her head would explode, any loud sound only increased the headache. After she would give the women the orders, she would go to her bedroom, where she would recover from the hangover.

But little did she know what happened in that bedroom last night, while she was passed drunk at the dining table...

Normally an outburst like this would make Lorena tremble... but being yelled at by Stephanie each morning would be worth every single night she would be able to spend with Triple H. She already looked forward for tonight...


End file.
